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LIVE: Terrorists escaped as it was dark and they used civilians as shield, says Baramulla SSP on terror attack

By Prashant V Singh | Last Updated: Monday, October 3, 2016 - 16:01
 
 
New Delhi: Security forces are on high alert after an Indian Army camp in Baramulla came under attack by fidayeen militants on Sunday night. One BSF jawan was martyred in the attack. Here are all the LIVE updates:-
- Briefing the media, Baramulla Senior Superintendent of Police Imtiaz Hussain said that an investigation is underway to ascertain which outfit the terrorists belonged to.
- Asserting that the terrorists responsible for the attack on army and the Border Security Force (BSF) camps in Baramulla fled the spot using the dark and heavy civilian population as a shield, the police on Monday claimed that the security forces could not retaliate in a heavy manner fearing civilian casualties.

- Indian Army has recovered GPS, wire cutters and some other items from Baramulla attack site
- No dead bodies of terrorists recovered so far, says Vikash Chandra, IG BSF
- NSA Ajit Doval leaves PM Modi's residence after briefing him on Baramulla attack
- NSA Ajit Doval has briefed PM Narendra Modi on Baramulla terror attack
- National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua have spoken on the phone as tension between the two countries runs high after the terror attack in Uri and the Indian Army's surgical strikes across the Line of Control
- The two senior officials have agreed to reduce tension along the Line of Control, news agency ANI quoted Sartaj Aziz, foreign affairs adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as saying.

- Terrorists managed to escape as it was dark and army couldn't retaliate effectively due to apprehension of civilian casualty: SSP of Baramulla
- There was fire fight that went on for some time, terrorists were not able to sneak in the camp. Search operations called off: : SSP of Baramulla
- This is very unfortunate, but our forces are capable of dealing with any situation: Kiren Rijiju on matrydom of BSF jawan in Baramulla
- They used civilians as shield as it was a civilian area, we could not retaliate properly and they fled: Imtiaz Hussain SSP, Baramulla

- Reportedly, two terrorists were killed and two managed to escape; search operations are on to nab them
- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar chairs high-level security meet, Army Chief Dalbir Singh ,Air Force Chief Arup Raha and Navy Chief Sunil Lanba present
- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to hold a high-level meet, will meet all the three defence chiefs in the wake of Baramulla terror attack and tension along LoC
- Terrorists tried to enter the camp but our forces retaliated and the terrorists fled, search operations are on: IG BSF (Kashmir) Vikas Chandra

- According to sources, terrorists attacked in two groups
- It is believed that some terrorists managed to escape, now search operations are underway
- At least two terrorists and a BSF personnel were killed while one BSF jawan was injuredBSF personnel were killed while one BSF jawan was injured
- Army chief is taking stock of the situation after 46 Rashtriya Rifles camp was targeted in Baramulla
- India's NSA Ajit Doval has spoken to Pakistan's NSA over Baramulla terror attack, agreed to reduce tensions on LoC
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir`s Baramulla after an Indian Army camp came under attack by fidayeen militants on Sunday night.
- Rajnath Singh and Ajit Doval are reviewing the security measures so as to avoid any untoward incident.
- The attack on a camp of Rashtriya Rifles and adjacent BSF camp started around 10.30 p.m. on Sunday, and heavy firing continued till midnight.
- Director General BSF K.K. Sharma, who also held discussions with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on phone, briefed the home minister about the situation.
- One BSF jawan martyred, and another one was injured
- Rajnath Singh expressed regret over one BSF trooper being martyred
- Rajnath Singh instructed officials to announce compensation to the family.
- Singh also told the BSF chief to ensure best medical care for the injured soldier.
Baramulla terror attack
- This comes days after India avenged the Uri attacks and carried out surgical strikes across the LoC, smashing as many as seven terror launch pads.

- The fidayeen attack, however was foiled, as the terrorists could not breach the 46 RR camp security.
- The terrorists, who gained entry into the 46 RR camp through an adjoining BSF camp, fired indiscriminately and lobbed grenades as well.

 US tells Pakistan to 'limit nukes', Pakistan says 'no'


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The Pakistani PM's speech, though, is going to be overshadowed by news that two US lawmakers+ today introduced legislation in the US Congress to designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism+ . India has found strong evidence that the Uri attack was a Pakistan-sponsored one. Leaders around the world, including those of the US, France and the UK, among others, condemned the attack and vigorously called for an end to State-supported terror anywhere in the world.

"PM's speech is going to be important. PM Nawaz is going to present a strong case of occupied Kashmir in front of the world," Chaudhry said today.

"He also said that PM Nawaz would also speak about Indian involvement in Pakistan during his address," an article in Pakistan's The News International said.

The Pakistani newspaper claims that at Sharif's meeting with Kerry, both "expressed strong concern at the recent violence in Kashmir - particularly the army base attack - and the need for all sides to reduce tensions."

Uri terror attack: India’s culture of shying from conflict is why such attacks will recur

 

The Modi government is understood to have given the army, its diplomats and its spooks a cautious go-ahead for some kind of calibrated, but not brash, response to the Pakistan-backed terrorist attack in Uri, which killed 18 soldiers. Nothing wrong with this, but it will achieve little. None of this has worked in the past, and none of this will amount to much beyond political optics even now or in the future. This is because underlying all this is a reactive approach, and hence our actions can be easily anticipated by the world’s original Islamic State, aka Pakistan.

The truth is countering Pakistan’s death-by-a-thousand cuts terror policy needs a long-term strategy, not a tactical reaction to events. But despite have seen over three decades of Pakistani perfidies, we do not have a coherent strategy. If we had one, by now the costs of Uri could have been clear to Pakistan. That we are still debating what to do, with media speculating on options loudly, means Pakistan is ready to face whatever we throw at them. Whatever we do will thus be ineffective.
18 soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack on Uri Army base. PTI
18 soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack on Uri Army base. PTI
What we have been doing so far is blundering through with a non-strategy. Consider these points:

1. A sitting ducks strategy
Whether it is terror against civilians in Jammu and Kashmir or the army, our approach is defensive and non-purposeful. The truism is that a terrorist has to succeed only once, while the defence has to win all the time to be successful. While we can certainly protect our army camps and airbases better, dealing with terrorists who have the element of surprise with them needs a more flexible and mobile strategy, which means creating a light, effective and disciplined commando force that blends with the population to both feed intelligence and take direct action against jihadis when they are discovered. Our National Security Guards are busy protecting politicians instead of our security assets. We need a force that works under the army or the central police forces, but which is mobile and effective.

2. Learn-no-lessons strategy
Pakistan constantly adapts to new conditions based on how the last one worked or failed. When 26/11 made Pakistan a global pariah, it shifted strategy to target the army and police, as strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney notes, but even after Pathankot we have not changed our strategy to meet this threat. This is why Uri happened.

3. The hugs-and-kisses strategy
This is where we allow hope and naivete to trump good sense. We are always ready to hop onto a bus to Lahore or hug a Pakistani Prime Minister when the Pakistani army and Deep State have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not willing to give up their enmity or terror assets. Hugs-and-kisses are fine for global optics, but they can never substitute for realism driven by hard power and firepower. WE don’t have to abandon the optics or even talks, but we have to have an underlying iron-fist-in-velvet glove strategy. We should be able to bare our fangs whenever we choose to.

4. The outrage-and-bluster routine
Every time there is a terror attack, we get angry as though this is the first time we have been stabbed in the back. We demand solid responses from a pusillanimous government, and we get promises of action. But a few weeks later, we forget all this and are back to business-as-usual. Media bluster and political statement-mongering will get us nowhere.

5. The playing-by-our-rules strategy
Indians are particularly foolish to think that our opponent will play by our rules, or ever play fair. When you are in a war of long-term attrition, you have to know your enemy. You can’t fight with bow and arrow when the enemy has guns. But we spend very little time asking ourselves what the Pakistanis are going to do next, what atrocity they are going to commit to provoke us. If we do not learn to think like the enemy, if we are not regularly studying alternate scenarios on what the Pakistani generals will be upto next, we are going to be surprised every time. We need a permanent war-room under the National Security Advisor that will constantly ask itself what it would do if it were in the ISI’s or Pakistani army’s shoes, and prepare for that eventuality. We might still get surprised, but at least we can learn from our mistakes. War is not a play-by-my-rules affair. You have to make your rules only after understanding what rules the opponent follows. Your rules depend on knowing your enemy.

6. The dossier strategy
Every time there is a terror event, we build dossiers on Pakistan’s involvement. Nothing wrong in this, but we have to understand who or what this dossier is for. It is to show the world, and build a domestic case for trials in case the persons named happen to get caught in India. Giving these dossiers to Pakistan is like giving them ultimate pleasure. They will dismiss it as “literature” and throw it in the dustbin and then ask for more evidence. Nothing pleases the Pakistanis more than to let us do all the work and then throw it into the trash can. Why are we doing this repeatedly?
7. The diplomatic isolation gambit

Once again, this is useful in order to build global opinion against Pakistan. We should continue doing so, and also repeatedly brand Pakistan as the oldest and most dangerous version of Islamic State. ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has no nuclear weapons. It can be bombed out of existence. Pakistan cannot. So the purpose of diplomacy should be to make Pakistan a pariah, but it won’t reduce terrorism from Pakistani soil. The only country which has leverage over China is Pakistan, but China is happy to covertly support Pakistani terror in order to keep us permanently off balance. If at all diplomacy is to work, our strategy should be to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan by giving the former evidence of terrorism against China being plotted by Pakistani jihadis.

8. The turn-the-other-cheek strategy
This is pure stupidity, and entirely homegrown. Our media will keep telling us that India as the big brother must tolerate some Pakistani perfidy, and even provide justification for it, by showing how Pakistanis are good people, who even pay for visiting journos’ lunch. It is true that civil society people can be warm towards Indians, but it is not Pakistani civil society that we are fighting with. It is the army and ISI. Turning the other cheek and playing benevolent big brother to the Deep State is not an option.

9. The look-at-root-causes strategy
This also masquerades as the look-at-our-own-mistakes strategy. Or we-brought-it-on-ourselves rationalisation. Doves in the media and analysts will routinely tell us that we goofed in J&K, and that Pakistan would not find traction if we only won the Kashmiris over. While it can be no one’s claim that we did all the right things in Kashmir, it is rubbish to suggest that the current wave of violence is all our own doing. Remember, Pakistan was a key player in Islamising the Valley and played an active role in the ethnic cleansing of the Pandits. Once the Valley became 100 percent Muslim, Kashimiryat was over. Where earlier Pakistan had to send jihadis over, now jihad is home-grown with a self-radicalising population which thinks Islamism is the answer. De-radicalisation should be our goal, but we still have to fight Pakistan in this battle.

10. The good boy strategy
India seems keener to get good certificates of tolerance and restraint from the global community than to protect its strategic interests in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. Many Indian media writers feed this narrative by saying India should not support war-mongering. Anyone demanding effective action against Pakistani terror can be dubbed a warmonger, and we keep fighting shy of this tag. The fact is every nation has a duty to protect its interests, and retaliation against terror is not war-mongering. A rising global power cannot decide its actions based on what other people will think. We can explain our point of view to the world cogently, but we cannot let them decide what is in our interests, even if they think less of us in the bargain. The US, Russia, China, Israel, UK and no country worth its salt decides on strategic actions based on what the world will think. We should not either.

Our real problem is this: there is something in the Indian cultural DNA that shies away from conflict, avoids hard decisions, and offers a rationalisation for inaction and cowardice. Not standing up to a regular bully is passed off (by us) as some kind of peace-loving Indian attitude when internally we are seething with anger over repeated humiliations by a terrorist nation.
The Pakistanis have figured this out about us, which is why they target us with impunity, knowing how we will respond. Isn’t it time we showed them we can be different? We owe it to ourselves and the future of Indian nationhood to show them we are not what they think we are: sissies afraid to stand up for our national interests.


 

Uri attack: India must call Pakistan's nuclear bluff and weigh politico-military options

   
The Uri attack could be an inflection point for India, its relationship with Pakistan and the geopolitical future of south Asia. Or it could be just another deep cut inflicted by a rogue neighbour that enjoys provoking New Delhi secure in the knowledge that India shall remain forever trapped in the delusion of being a "great, responsible power" that in reality can do little beyond spewing empty rhetoric followed by routine pusillanimity.

There is little doubt that whichever outfit may have fronted it, the audacious terrorist strike on Sunday morning at the Indian Army headquarters in Uri — that claimed the lives of 17 soldiers and wounded another 19 — was carried out by the Pakistani deep state.

Initial reports emerging out of New Delhi confirm the suspicion. Army’s director general of military operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was quoted as saying by Livement that "all four killed were foreign terrorists and had some items with them which had Pakistani markings… Slain terrorists belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed Tanzeem (militant group). Four AK-47 rifles and four under-barrel grenade launchers along with a large number of other war-like stores were recovered from them."
fig:The Army Brigade camp which was attacked by militants in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. PTI


While Pakistani hand behind the terrorist attack isn't surprising, the timing of the offensive certainly is. The act of war against Indian state comes at a time when heads of governments are scheduled to meet at the United Nations General Assembly starting on Monday. At first glance, Pakistan's move to sponsor a terrorist attack on Indian soil when its Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is raising Kashmir issue at UN may appear counter-productive. On the contrary, it is a brilliant move.

Islamabad, or more correctly Rawalpindi, is gambling on the well-considered possibility that the Uri attack will goad India into a knee-jerk response that it may then exploit to its advantage to go with its narrative of "Indian oppression in Kashmir". Given the fact that the West would surely try to defuse the tension between the nuclear neighbours would mean that India would be at the receiving end of global pressure to "show restraint" and "act responsibly". Advice to such effect was already being administered by United States commentators on Sunday evening.

With Uri and Pathankot, Pakistan has now launched two audacious operations against India in this year alone, apart from the regular infiltration attempts across LoC. These ops are part of its "zero-risk" strategy because the nuclear umbrella and India's self-imposed 'no first-use' doctrine provide Pakistan with a secure cover from which it may cock repeated snooks at New Delhi's superior military might.

So what shall be India's response? The first thing to understand is that India has a wide range of options to retaliate against Pakistan and it need not be caught in the false duality of "restraint" or "war". This is exactly what Pakistan is banking on and we must catch them on the wrong foot.
As a first step, India must call Pakistan's nuclear bluff. For far too long have we allowed a demographically small, economically weak and a malicious, irresponsible, failed rogue state to hold us to ransom over the nuclear bogey. We have suffered repeated humiliations and debilitating injuries. Pakistan's nuclear gambit revolves around a first-use threat. But the point is, Islamabad won't dare to cross the final threshold because a retaliatory strike from India will simply wipe it away.

Therefore, India must take the strategic initiative away from Pakistan. We cannot afford to indefinitely defend ourselves against a nation that uses terrorism as state policy and has launched an unconventional, proxy war against us. In absence of an effective deterrent, we have opened ourselves to a never-ending assault. Fidayeen strikes like the one at Pathankot or Uri are notoriously difficult to prevent because there shall always remain a weak spot or two which the enemy can exploit. Hence the only way India can prevent future attacks from happening is by launching a coordinated politico-military offensive against a country which only understands the language of violence. History tells us that only when Pakistan gets a bloody nose that it learns to behave.

Hence the Indian action must be concentrated on these areas.

First, on the military front, take a proactive stance and launch counter-ops to demolish terror-training camps across the LoC using local intelligence inputs. If India doesn't have the courage or conviction to act in self-defence then it will be foolish to expect that the world would respect our viewpoint. But this military option must be part of a larger diplomatic offensive.

India must isolate Pakistan globally, lobby hard to make it a pariah nation and call for debilitating sanctions. India must bring Pakistan to its knees. Why would the world sing along with us? They would because in this game of diplomatic offensive, India's biggest weapon is its population and demography. This will be the only language the global powers will understand because, in the world of strategic affairs, decisions are taken based on domestic interests, not lofty ideals. Nobody would support India if we simply throw our arms around and call for sanctions. But if we were to tell the US that arms deals will be off if they don't play ball with us, Uncle Sam would be more favourably disposed.

With Brexit, Britain is ripe for the picking for such pressure because it needs access to the Indian market. And this strategy may pay off, albeit with varying degrees of success, even with European nations. As Marianne Wade, Almir Maljevic write in their book War on Terror, "Since 2002 the European Union has systematically inserted anti-terrorism clauses into trade cooperation and association agreements with third countries".

We may find resonance on economic blockade against Pakistan even from Islamabad-backers China if we leverage Beijing's trade surplus with us. Asia's great power uses Pakistan as a cheap deterrent against India's economic ambitions. With Beijing heavily invested in Gwadar through CPEC, it wouldn't want to risk a destabilisation of borders.

Additionally, we must bypass Pakistan in Saarc, diplomatically isolate them and have a blanket ban on all bilateral interactions. From a display of hard power to flexing its soft-power muscle, layered alternatives are available with India. Let's junk this policy of turning the other cheek when slapped by Pakistan.

 

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