It is high time that the counter-terrorism strategy in J&K. is reviewed to factor in militancy’s changing face. The terrorists, equipped with the latest techniques, are now prepared for the long haul.Old tactics cannot work.

Smoke billowing out of the JKEDI building, where militants reportedly took refuge after launching an attack on a CRPF convoy at Sempora Pampore, near Srinagar. PTI

The encounter at the multi-storey building at Sempora, just a kilometre outside Srinagar, which lasted for more than 48 hours from Saturday to Monday afternoon, (from February 20 to 22) is a perfect lesson on how not to conduct an anti-terrorism operation in Kashmir. The sanitisation of the massive building with 44 rooms was still on as the security forces disposed of unexploded explosives and searched for the booby traps left by the slain trio.Over the years, lulled by the obsolete battalion approach, the Army has not devised any new strategy to deal with new threats. It has also ignored the growing challenges on the ground in a self-delusion that its “Sadhbhavana” or goodwill operations, granting computers to schools or sponsoring all-India tours of children and the aged, have generated new sources of information and the pro-militancy sentiment has retreated. Contrary to that, the fact is that the situation on the ground has worsened. If there were any doubts, the Saturday to Monday gun battle offered ample proof of the worsening situation.Acute complacency about the situation, despite claims to the contrary, and declining interaction  between the top Army leadership and the men in the field, is  hampering the emergence of new counter-terrorism strategies. Rather than devoting adequate time at map-reading in operation rooms, much time is consumed in projecting themselves before the cameras. Much has changed since 1990, the calendar year of the start of the armed rebellion  in  Kashmir. The Army has taken certain things for granted  and taken its eyes and ears off the ground, where Kashmiris have developed a psyche of drawing a vicarious pleasure from the prolonged exploits of militants in their fight against the security forces.The Sempora encounter, which started with an ambush of the CRPF convoy, in which two troopers were killed and nine injured on Saturday afternoon, had multiple inbuilt challenges. After the ambush, the militants deviated from the hit-and-run option, a familiar strategy they would adopt during the 1990s. Instead, they walked into the Entrepreneurship Development Institute building, where they asked the civilians to flee. They forced those who were reluctant and scared to run by firing in the air. Major-General Avinder Dutta, General officer Commanding, Victor Force, based in Awantipore in south Kashmir,  made an apt observation: “Militants had sought to provoke the forces and cause collateral damage.”  However, the unanswered question is where was the quick-reaction team that is supposed to follow the convoys? The fact that raises a pertinent question is that at this very place a similar attempt had been made to ambush the same convoy two months ago and yet it did not ring alarm bells.The CRPF team entered the premises but had to withdraw because of the intense assault by the fully armed and equipped militants. Then the Army adopted a flip-flop strategy, losing two Captains and one Lance Naik. It was a much heavier price in terms of the  ratio of 1:4, before it pounded the building with rockets. What needs to be asked is: Could not what the Army did in the end have been done in the beginning? Perhaps what has not been factored in is that a prolonged encounter etches an image of macho terrorists who die fighting a much larger number of soldiers. Undoubtedly, they were in an extremely advantageous position, hiding in a building that is more than 60 feet, with many windows and nooks and crannies. Why had the Army never calculated such a scenario in its counter-insurgency strategies. That something happens for the first time is no logic. Fidayeen attacks are nearly a 17-year-old phenomenon in Kashmir now.The reliance on the past practices, when the Army  would conduct cordon-and-search operations for hours together in extreme weather conditions and the people would bear them, is not a good strategy, to put it mildly.What has been seen is that the locals of the areas, whether after being instigated or voluntarily, march toward the encounter sites. At times, they even provide the militants a human shield to escape, while at other times, like at Sempora, a message of solidarity is broadcast  through pro-militant slogans and anti-India exhortations.It is the time to review the counter-terrorism strategy against the backdrop of the changing face of  militancy in the state battered by militants  for the past nearly three decades. Counter-terrorism experts need to come out of their drawingroom mindset and study the field situation afresh in Kashmir. At the same time, it becomes incumbent upon the Army commanders posted in this sensitive, terrorism-hit state to interact more with their men rather than showcasing themselves as messiahs pedalling goodwill missions which  burden the taxpayer.Old tactics cannot and should not be applied in the changed situations where terrorists adopt new techniques and are equipped with a new mindset to fight for  days together. In the 1990s, when the Army used to cordon off areas and go in for anti-terrorist operations, it would overwhelm militants with  its numerical strength. The soldiers would use that advantage to neutralise militants after a brief spell of gunfighting. This was followed by a phase when militants would take shelter in mosques as part of their hit-and-run tactics. The public disapproved of this strategy of the militants. Elders would act as intermediaries  to get  mosques vacated. There was always a next time for the soldiers to take on the militants. The Fidayeen cult, the signature style of Lashkar-e-Toiba, which came into vogue after the Kargil War in 1999, is continuing. The basic training to deal with such battles where militants create an imminent death-like situation has not been worked out for the past nearly 17 years. Raising boundary walls and seeking safety in the rolling out of concertina wires has not served as a deterrent. That was obvious in Pathankot as well.Another tactic adopted by the militants was to storm civilian buildings, hotels and then attract the security forces to surround them. It was patience and intelligence that paid dividends, not knee-jerk reactions. That time, the public did not come out and no attempt was made to reach the site of the encounter to create a law-and-order situation. Now the youth, armed with stones, often reach the site where the gun battle is underway. The delay in concluding  operations can create other disturbing situations. Again, this eventuality has not been taken into consideration. Complete coordination between the police, paramilitary and the Army in such an eventuality is a delusion. The ground situation is an altogether different story.What have been recorded as the “peak years of militancy” in Kashmir, now appear like its infancy as compared to the level and intensity of the new terror attacks. Die-hard elements among militants, who want to go down fighting instead of offering to surrender to a higher number of military personnel, reveals a hardened mindset.  Earlier, picking up the gun was a romance. It was believed that merely carrying a gun, or firing bullets on security pickets or patrols or hitting and running after hurling grenades was enough to show commitment to the “cause of the liberation of Kashmir” or earn the aura of a “martyr”.  At one stage, their death was treated merely like that of militants and not martyrs. This is no longer the case now. The battle at Sempora has proved it beyond any doubt.

ajoshi57@gmail.com

Jat protesters block a railway track near Pataudi on Saturday. photo: Sayeed Ahmed

Nitish Sharma &Suman Bhatnagar.Tribune News Service.,Ambala February 20

Several trains were cancelled and many buses remained off road today due to the Jat agitation.  The disruption in traffic inconvenienced thousands of people, especially the aged, infants and women.While buses on the roads were packed to capacity with people hanging out, the situation was no better at the Ambala Cantonment railway station, where people jostled to board the trains on the Saharanpur route. Only a few Uttar Pradesh bound trains arrived following the agitation.As many as 87 trains, including Shatabdi Express, Shan-e-Punjab Express, Heerakund Express, Rajdhani Express, Jhelum Express, Himalayan Queen, Sampark Kranti Express, Dadar Express, Jan Shatabdi Express and Howrah Express remained cancelled today. Some of the trains coming from Punjab were terminated at Ambala Cantt.Some of Bihar and UP-bound migrant passengers have been waiting for the trains for last 24 hours. The Railway officials were not able not give accurate information about when the service would be restored. Station master Hans Raj said a family of Ambala, who had reserved 25 seats for February 21 for Mumbai a few months ago for celebrating the marriage of their daughter there has to cancel the seats on Friday as none of the Mumbai bound train was available at Railway station. Some of the passengers bound to Panipat and Delhi hired taxis to reach their destination for which they have to pay two to three times the charges of train fare. Daily passengers faced difficulties to reach their offices in time. Sham Singh (50), a resident of Etawah, said: “We are nine persons, including four children, who had boarded Toofan Express on Thursday from Etawah for Abohar (Punjab). However, when we reached Delhi we were told that the train will not go further. From Delhi, we reached Sonepat on a passenger train and had to spend night there.”

Rohtak watches as buildings burn

Army personnel take out a flag march as Jat protesters went on the rampage in Rohtak on Saturday. Photo: Manoj Dhaka

Sunit Dhawan,Tribune News Service,Rohtak, February 20

Jat protesters today set ablaze more than 10 buildings, ransacked and looted showrooms despite curfew and shoot-at-sight orders.Group clashes were reported from several areas in which one person was killed and over 100 were injured.The Vita milk plant on the Gohana road near the Sukhpura chowk was also set ablaze. Following this, ammonia gas leaked from the plant and the residents of the Vita colony were moved to safer locations.In view of the situation, Army troops were airdropped at the Rohtak Police Lines. From there, they started a joint flag march with BSF and police personnel. However, in view of a massive assembly of protesters near the MDU gate number 2 on the Delhi road, they were directed to take a U-turn, so as to avert a clash.Later, the Jat protesters went on the rampage and set the BJP’s office, Meham police station, several hotels, restaurants, a petrol station, a shopping mall, showrooms, shops and other commercial establishments on fire. Several vehicles were also torched.Police personnel, who had vanished from the spots of violence yesterday, abandoned their police posts today and locked stations.A number of Punjabi and non-Jat businessmen, traders and shopkeepers alleged their showrooms and other establishments had been specifically targeted. Jat youths allegedly threatened members of the Punjabi and other non-Jat communities of raiding their houses during the nightOn the other hand, Jat residents of Sector 3 alleged threats of attack by members of Saini, Gujjar and Balmiki communities.The Principal Secretary to CM, RK Khullar, said he had noted the details and action would be taken. He, however, had no reply to the question why the Army had been unable to check the rioters. …

Agitation peaceful in YamunanagarYamunanagar: Jat agitators on Saturday blocked roads at several places in the district, but the protest passed off peacefully. The agitators blocked the road at Kail village, Chhachhrauli, Bilaspur, Sadhaura and Radaur towns. The blockades in Sadhaura and Radaur towns were lifted with intervention of Deputy Commissioner SS Phulia and Superintendent of Police Arun Singh. The protesters did not stop any ambulance or other emergency vehicles. The district administration had made arrangements to divert the traffic and as a result. The DC said the situation was under control in the district. — TNS

Two Roadways buses torched Bhiwani: Unidentified protesters torched two roadways buses parked at the Charkhi Dadri depot in the wee hours today after they threw crude petrol bombs. Fire engines were pressed into service and saved other buses from catching fire. Naresh Kumar, bus depot chowkidar, said nearly 10 youths barged into the bus depot on motorcycles and started pelting stones. Later, they threw crude petrol bombs on buses, he said. Vijaypal Singh, workshop mechanic, said the staff ran away after the youths created ruckus.   — TNS

Bhiwani remains shut; shops vandalisedNew Delhi: The Congress on Saturday adopted a twin stance on Haryana, with some state leaders appealing for restoration of peace and social harmony and others accusing the BJP-RSS of conspiring to divide the society on caste lines. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda sought to adopt a statesman-like approach, suggesting the state government to find a solution on Jat reservation and not indulge in “petty politics”. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surejwala said he was pained that the BJP-RSS was dividing Haryana on caste lines. — TNS

Anarchy prevails

• Clashes reported for several areas. One killed
• BJP office, shopping mall, police station, petrol station, markets gutted
• Army troops airdropped at the Rohtak police lines
• Flag march taken out by the Amry, BSF and state police personnel
• Essential services such as ambulance and fire engines hit

President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the government’s intention to induct women in all military combat roles. Since time immemorial, men have apportioned to themselves the leading role in fighting and hunting. It has stayed that way with a variety of arguments and customs barring women entry into the armed forces of nation states. The main arrow in the quiver is the primordial fear of the enemy ‘violating’ captured women warriors. The other argument is of a modern make and makes the point that India is not culturally as advanced as the Nordic countries to have mixed dormitories and common toilets.Both fears against the entry of women in combat roles, one old and another of recent make, ignore the history of their participation in modern warfare. Lyudmila Pavlichenko was one of the deadliest snipers in World War II with 309 confirmed hits. Armies of the post-revolution Soviet Union, China and Cuba have accommodated women in combat roles. And women guerrillas have taken on men-only armies in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Colombia. Recently, women fighters of the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Syrian YPJ successfully took on the ISIS known for press ganging captured women into sex slavery.The third argument is that men are genetically programmed to kill and women balk at shedding blood. As women guerrillas and soldiers have shown, this is a misplaced notion.  Candidates are selected after a gruelling psychological examination for aptitude and the ones falling short are winnowed. Though women have been inducted into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force, this was an easier decision. Air force bases are family stations and pilots operate from the cockpit where issues of cohesion, etc. are absent. It will be tough to create space in infantry and combat units or on warships. If the example of other countries is an indication, the number of women in combat units will be miniscule. This means the costs of additional facilities will not be much but the President’s declaration has succeeded in sending a clear signal that India will embark on the path of full gender parity in the armed forces.

Army personnel head towards the encounter site at Marsarri Chowkibal in Kupwara on Saturday. PTI

Tribune News Service,Srinagar/Kupwara, February 13

Two soldiers of the Army’s elite counter-insurgency unit and five militants were killed today in a 20-hour encounter in North Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara. Two Army personnel, including a Major-rank officer, were injured in the gunfight in snowbound Marsarri Chowkibal, 115 km from Srinagar. The slain militants, attired in white, carried a snow axe and rucksacks, indicating they may have infiltrated recently, said sources.On Friday, a joint operation was launched by the 41 Rashtriya Rifles, 16 Grenadiers, 19 Maratha Regiment and the elite 4 Para, along with the Special Operations Group of the J&K Police and the CRPF, following intelligence inputs on the presence of militants in the area. “The terrorists were entrenched in an abandoned house. The encounter continued through the night and ended this noon. Five terrorists hiding in the house were eliminated,” said Brigadier SP Singh of Trehgam Brigade, under whose command the operation was carried out. “We lost Naik Shankar Chandrabhan Shinde (34) of Nasik, Maharashtra, and gunner Maruti Sahadev (26) of Bijapur, Karnataka. Two other Army men, one of them an officer, were injured. Their condition is stable.” Shinde is survived by his wife and two children. Sahadev, who was engaged, was to go on leave in a week.

Service chiefs pay tribute to Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 11

Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanumanthappa passed away at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital here today because of multiple-organ dysfunction after a three-day battle for life. He was rescued from the avalanche-hit Siachen glacier on February 8.“Lance Naik Hanumanthappa is no more. He breathed his last at 11.45 am,” a senior Army official said. The cremation will take place at Hubli in Karnataka tomorrow. The 33-year-old soldier of the 19th Battalion of Madras Regiment is survived by his wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal and a two-year-old daughter, Netra Koppad. A resident of Betadur village in Dharwad district of Karnataka, he had joined the Army 13 years ago. Hanumanthappa along with nine other Armymen, none of whom survived, were buried under the avalanche that hit the 19,600-ft high Sonam Post on February 3. He was found alive, but with serious complications on February 8. In Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi were among those who paid homage to the soldier. “He leaves us sad & devastated. RIP Lance Naik Hanumanthappa. The soldier in you remains immortal. Proud that martyrs like you served India,” the Prime Minister tweeted.“In his life and his passing, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa has shown the world the meaning of perseverance & courage,” wrote Rahul Gandhi on Twitter.Dubbed ‘miracle man’, Hanamanthappa’s condition had deteriorated yesterday. “His circulatory shock is now refractory to all drugs in maximum permissible doses and his kidneys remained non-functional,” a health bulletin released by the Army earlier in the day had said. His pneumonia had worsened and the blood-clotting disorder showed no signs of reversal despite blood component support. 

Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad. — File photo

New Delhi, February 10

The condition of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, the soldier who was pulled out from under 25 feet of snow in Siachen, has deteriorated, the Army said on Wednesday as doctors continue to make efforts to save him.

His condition remains fragile, with CT scans showing oxygen deprivation to his brain, a medical bulletin issued in the evening said.

His lungs also showed evidence of pneumonia.

“His multi-organ dysfunction state continues unabated. His condition has deteriorated despite aggressive therapy and supportive care,” the bulletin said.

Citical care specialists, HoD Dept of Medicine, senior nephrologist and senior neurologist from Army Hospital and team of experts from AIIMS, New Delhi continue to make efforts to save him.

“The entire team was in agreement with the management (of medical problems) that the patient had undergone till now, and concurred with the future plan of management for him,” the Bulletin said.

Hanamanthappa was among the Madras Regiment personnel who were buried under an avalanche that hit their outpost on Siachen glacier on February 3.

He was taken to Delhi by an IAF aircraft.

Woman offers kidney to soldier

A housewife today offered to donate a kidney to Lance Naik Koppad, who is battling for life.

Nidhi Pandey, who lives in Padaria Tula village, about 50 km away from Lakhimpur Kheri, UP, said she was sad to know about the soldier’s condition.

“It was being broadcast in the news channels that his condition is extremely critical as his liver and kidneys are not functioning properly,” she said, adding that she felt that something more should be done for the soldier apart from prayers.

She said that is the reason why she decided to donate her kidney, if required.

“With my husband’s consent, I expressed my wish to a news channel through its helpline number that flashed on the screen,” Pandey said.

She said she has taken the decision as it could benefit the soldier serving the nation. — PTI

A first: Chinese, Indian troops meet for disaster mgmt drill

The first joint Indo-China tactical exercise between border troops of both countries was conducted in the Chushul-Moldo area. Tribune Photo

Sumit Hakhoo,Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 7

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, often in news for standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers, saw the first-ever joint tactical exercise between the two armies to tackle natural disasters.The day-long humanitarian relief exercise conducted in sub-zero temperature in the remote Chushul-Moldo area of Jammu and Kashmir saw soldiers jointly conducting rescue missions, casualty evacuation and providing humanitarian aid in a situation of calamity striking areas close to the LAC.At the height of 4,360 m, Chushul is prone to cold and snow-related disasters. The exercise assumes significance in the backdrop of recent avalanche in Siachen. Soldiers guard remote outposts in the area and several small nomadic settlements are present on both sides of the LAC.The Indian team of 30 Army personnel was led by Colonel Ritesh Chandra Singh, while the Chinese team was led by Colonel Qu Yi.Chushul is one of the four officially agreed BPM (border personnel meeting) points for regular interaction between the two armies to defuse tension.“The joint exercise was based on a situation of a national disaster occurring on the border and the subsequent coordination for a rescue mission by joint teams of both countries. As previously agreed, the exercise focused on actions to be coordinated to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief,” said a defence spokesperson.India shares 3,488-km de facto border with China and is divided into three sectors—western sector (between Ladakh and Aksai Chin plateau); central sector (between Uttarakhand and Tibet) and the eastern sector (covering Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh). Jammu and Kashmir has seen frequent transgressions over the past few years.The joint exercise, Sino-India Cooperation 2016, complements the Hand-in-Hand series of India-China joint exercises and the recently conducted border troops’ joint exercise in Sikkim.

Border bonhomie

• The day-long humanitarian relief exercise was conducted in sub-zero temperature in the Chushul-Moldo area of J&K
• Thirty soldiers each from the People’s Liberation Army and the Indian Army took part in the exercise
• The exercise was based on a situation of a national disaster and the subsequent coordination for a rescue mission, said a defence spokesperson