Pulwama Terror Attack - India's Security and Diplomatic Response
iasparliament
February 16, 2019
What is the issue?
The Pulwama terror attack calls for a serious look into the security lapses and a more thought-out diplomatic response.
A similar attack in Iran around the same time calls for waking up to the ideological powers at play in the region.
What does it call for from Pak and China?
The attack's intent seems to be to provoke and polarise India.
The Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan bears the onus to explain why Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, enjoys such freedoms on its territory.
Certainly, diplomatic backing by Pakistan and China has defeated India's and others' efforts at the UN to put Azhar on the list of banned global terrorists.
China now cannot evade questions about its previous blocking of action at the UN against Azhar.
What should India do?
Security - The attack has perhaps taken the highest toll of security forces in any attack in the State.
It has raised serious questions on intelligence gathering, dissemination and coordination in the Kashmir Valley.
Investigations should yield a better picture on the security lapses.
Effectively upgrading intelligence gathering and plugging security gaps, and winning the confidence of the local population in the Valley are vital.
Diplomacy - India's response must not play into the perpetrator's plans with reflexive and precipitate official action.
India has withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan in a signal that could economically hamper Pakistan to an extent.
While coercive diplomacy is likely to continue, to be effective, the effort needs a wider net.
The effort must be to isolate Pakistan at the international arena for its support to the Jaish and seek substantive action.
This is more crucial at a time when the U.S. is seeking Pakistan’s help in concluding a deal with the Afghan Taliban.
What is the larger regional significance?
A day before the Pulwama attack, there was an almost identical attack in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, which borders Pakistan.
Troops of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite arm of the Iran armed forces, were attacked and nearly 30 people were killed.
The Jaish ul Adl (JuA) has claimed responsibility for this.
While there are no apparent connections, JuA and JeM (behind Pulwama attack) are both ideologically linked, being Sunni extremist groups.
Both have been mentored in Pakistan and both are based in Pakistan.
JuA, with other Sunni sectarian groups, target the Shia Iran on religious grounds.
Likewise, Sunni sectarian groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which operate in Pakistan’s Balochistan target Shia minorities in the province.
They have flourished in the region in the shelter provided by Afghan Taliban strongholds.
Much like India's call for Pakistan shutting down Jaish-e-Mohammed, Iran has repeatedly asked Pakistan to crack down against the JuA.
Both JeM and JuA deploying the well-known Taliban method of suicide car bombing indicates a complex jihadist networks working to destabilise the region.
Both Iran and India now have crucial reasons to be attentive of the Pakistan-aided US-Taliban talks.
