DODA MARTRS CREMATED
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, July 18
Amid a spate of terrorist attacks in Jammu region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security and took stock of the ground situation in the UT.
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The CCS meeting came as two soldiers were injured in an encounter with terrorists in Jaddan Bata village of Jammu’s Doda.
The security situation would determine the preparedness for elections in Jammu and Kashmir as the Supreme Court in December last year had directed the Election Commission to conduct polls in J&K by September 30. The spate of violence in J&K could potentially delay poll timelines, it is learnt.
The latest encounter in Doda happened when terrorists attacked a temporary security camp set up in a government school in the area as part of the search operations launched by the Army after the killing of four of its personnel, including a Captain, by militants in the Desa forest area.
The CCS was attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Sources said the PM took stock of the J&K security situation and progress after his first major review of the matter mid-June, when he had ordered the security agencies to intensify counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting had then reviewed the ground deployment and the need for additional forces in the wake of the spurt in violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The CCS meeting came a day after the Army Chief briefed the PM on the situation. Over 100 security personnel have been killed in J&K over the past three years with nearly 40% in Jammu alone.
In the recent past, several terror attacks have taken place in Jammu. On July 15, four soldiers were killed in Doda; on July 8, five Army personnel were killed and five injured when militants attacked their convoy in Kathua; on June 11 and 12, six soldiers were killed in two attacks; on June 9, nine people were killed and 33 injured when terrorists opened fire at a bus ferrying pilgrims in Reasi; on May 4, an IAF man was killed and five injured after militants attacked two vehicles in Poonch.
General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM,(30 Jun 2024 to Till Date)
General Upendra Dwivedi assumed command of the Indian Army on 30 Jun 24. Prior to this, he was Vice Chief of the Army Staff from Feb 24 onwards. He is the recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and three GOC-in-C Commendation cards.
He hails from Madhya Pradesh and has studied in Sainik School Rewa (MP). He joined the prestigious National Defence Academy in January 1981 and was commissioned into the 18th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles on 15 Dec 1984, which he later commanded in the Kashmir valley and the deserts of Rajasthan. From his school days, he was an outstanding sportsman and excelled in both NDA and IMA, where he was awarded the Blue in Physical Training. He continued to excel post commissioning and was awarded the gold medal in the Physical Training Course.
General officer has a unique distinction of balanced exposure along Northern, Western and Eastern Theatres, in varied terrain and operational environment including Deserts, High Altitude, Riverine, Built Up area, North East and Jammu and Kashmir. He commanded his battalion in active Counter Terrorist operations in Kashmir Valley and in Rajasthan Deserts. He has been IGAR (GOC) and Sector Cdr Assam Rifles in intense CT Ops and held various other Staff & Command appointments in the North East where he pioneered the first ever compendium on Indo – Myanmar Border Management.
Subsequently he commanded Rising Star Corps along Western front and prestigious Northern Army from 2022-2024 in extremely challenging operational environment. During his command, he provided Strategic guidance & Operational oversight for planning and execution of sustained operations along the Northern & Western borders, besides orchestrating the dynamic counter Terrorism operations in J&K. He was also involved in modernising and equipping of the largest Command of the Indian Army, where he steered the induction of Indigenous equipment as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He synergised with people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for convergent Nation Building outcomes and infrastructure development.
He has varied staff exposures which includes handling conventional operations of Armoured Brigade in the Punjab plains, providing logistical support to a Mountain Division in North East along the Northern Borders and operations of a Strike Corps in Deserts. At IHQ HQ (Army), he contributed significantly in Military Secretary’s branch and was instrumental in raising of a section in Military Operations Directorate. Later, as the DG Infantry he steered and fast-tracked Capital procurement cases of weapons for all the three services, leading to significant and visible capability enhancement for our Armed Forces. As Deputy Chief, he gave impetus towards automation and absorption of niche tech in the Indian Army. Being a tech enthusiast, he worked towards enhancing the tech threshold of all ranks in Northern Command and pushed for Critical & Emerging Techs like Big Data Analytics, AI, Quantum and Blockchain based solutions.
The officer’s two overseas tenures include Somalia, as part of HQ UNOSOM II and Seychelles as Military Advisor to the Government of Seychelles. Besides, attending Staff College, Wellington & Higher Command Course at AWC, Mhow, the officer was conferred ‘Distinguished Fellow’ in the coveted NDC equivalent course at USAWC, Carlisle, USA. Complementing his illustrious military career, are an M Phil in Defence & Management Studies, in addition to the two Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies and Military Science including one from USAWC, USA. He has authored / presented articles in various professional forums / Journals.
He is married to Mrs Sunita Dwivedi, a science graduate, who is a home maker. Mrs Sunita Dwivedi has been associated with Aarushi, an institute for special ability children at Bhopal. The couple are blessed with two daughters who are working with NGOs. General officer is a skilled Yoga practitioner.
NEWDELHI,JULYA THERECENTattacksthathave rockedtheJammuregionare suspectedtohavebeenperpe tratedb a“freshbatchofterror ists”whoinfiltratedinthepast si monthsandcomprisefight ersfromPakistan’sPunjabas wellasKh erPakhtunkhware gions,saidsources.Mostofthem aresuspectedtobeJaish-e Mohammed(JeM)recruits. Accordingtosources,while the‘People’sAnti-FascistFront’ claimedcreditfortheattacksin Poonch-Rajouri earlier, the ‘KashmirTigers’tookresponsi bilit orthemorerecentattacks inDoda-Kathua. Boththese groupsaresuspectedtobeJeM fronts,saidsources. Thegroupsarehighl rained, motivatedandthosefromthe Kh erPakhtunkhwaregion ma lsohavebattleeperience, includinginAfghanistan,said
Dodaattack: Jaish suspects infiltrated six months ago sources in the securit establish ment.FormerPakistanArm ol diers ma lso beamongthem, addedsources. So far, 11 ArmedForces per sonnel have beenkilledb uch groups,usuall omprisingthree tofivemen,insi separateattacks this ar.Mostofthesecasualties have takenplace in thepastfew weeksalone. Besides, nine pas sengers diedwhen acivilian bus wastargetedinReasilastmonth. Therecentincidentscomeon thebackofaseriesofprecisionat tacksinthe Jammuregionsince October2
1. BeforetheJune-Jul attacksthis ar,theArmhadal read lostclose to 4 personnel since 2 1. Theearlier attacks, however, were focussedinthe Poonch-Rajouri sector, nearthe LoC. But the recent attacks have moveddeeperintoregions such asDoda,KathuaandReasi. “Thisisadifferentbatchofter rorists that has infiltrated in the pastsi months. The Poonch Rajouri sector terrorists,wesus pect, continuetooperateinthat region. The newbatchissus pected to have beendividedinto four-fivelean groups, whichare operating with considerable stealth and arehighl rained,” said asecurit establishment of ficerinJammuandKashmir(J&K). Securit agencies engaged in counter-terrorism in the region, however, believe the areall drawnfromthesamepool. “BoththePoonch-Rajouriand Doda-Kathua-Reasibatcheshave the samemodusoperandi.The have thesamelevelofmilitar training,reconnaissancecapabil it ,aversion to use of technolog orpubliccontact,andappl imi lar guerilla warfaretactics. Both have similar sophisticated weaponsandhave beenmaking videosoftheattacks.Giventhena tureoftheattacks,thepresenceof Pathan fighters from the Kh er Pakhtunkhwa region, whohave earlier fought alongside the Taliban,cannotberuledout,”said anotherofficerfromJ&K. “Both groupshave madeso phisticated videos of the attacks usingbod ameras, and aback endteamputstetinimpeccable literar nglish forpropaganda. The ometimesevenquotenoted authors andpoets such asRobert Frost,” saidanofficer. Thecontinuedattacks,despite aggressive counteroperationsb thesecurit forces,hastheestab lishment worried. While the groups areestimated to number notmorethan2 inboththere gions,securit forceshavenothad muchsuccess. “The impl is appear in the thickjungles after the attacks.Itisver ifficult to chaseorlocatetheminsuchhill forests. Recentl whentheArm becamemorecarefulaboutits movements,the mbushedan IAF’s administrative unit vehicle inPoonch,”saidanArmedForces officer.Inman ftheattacks,like intherecentambushonanArm convo inKathua,the ootedthe securit forces’weaponsandbul letproof jackets,saidsources.
SINCE April this year, there has been a spike in terror attacks in the Jammu region. In reference to these encounters, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) DGP RR Swain said, “A war has been imposed upon us but every terrorist in J&K will be killed.” However, this war has now gone on unabated for over three decades, orchestrated by Pakistan as part of its national doctrine. India has been dealing with this menace as state-sponsored terrorism from across the border.
It was in the early 1980s that Pakistan began to fuel militancy in Punjab to bleed India, having successively failed in conventional wars. The Pakistan army arranged a safe haven for the militants, providing training, arms and financial support. The decade-long militancy was ultimately defeated due to extensive coordinated operations by the security forces, coupled with a favourable groundswell. Victory came at a heavy price, both by way of bloodshed and in financial terms. Punjab was devastated and is yet to fully recover.
Given the success in Punjab, the Pakistan military top brass was convinced that its sacred mission to wrest Kashmir could be achieved through ‘non-state actors’. The success of jihadis in defeating a superpower in Afghanistan reinforced the belief. Accordingly, Pakistan’s ‘Deep State’ launched the proxy war in J&K in 1989-90, contemplating a local uprising, an exodus of minorities, rendering the civil apparatus defunct and defeating the security forces through irregular warfare.
Though terrorists initially gained the upper hand, by the mid-1990s, the Indian Army was able to stabilise the situation. While normalcy was a far cry, the danger of the Kashmir valley slipping away had been averted. In the initial stages, the foreign outfits — mainly Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) — were the mainstay of the proxy war, the Valley being the main focus. Even around early 2000, when I was commanding a formation in the Valley, foreign terrorists had a viable presence in Baramulla and south Kashmir.
In September 1998, although India and Pakistan agreed to hold a composite dialogue which included issues such as terrorism and narcotics, Gen Pervez Musharraf, the then Chief of Army Staff, had different plans. Pakistan continued to use the jihadi groups to undertake calibrated operations, often changing the modus operandi. India’s response remained largely defensive, with no concrete measures to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. A nexus between local politicians, terrorists and Pakistan’s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) remained intact.
Following the ‘Ceasefire Agreement’ (CFA) on the Line of Control (LoC) in 2003, it became easier for Pakistani handlers to infiltrate terrorists into J&K. There was also a shift in Pakistan’s strategy to lend a local touch to the proxy war by involving groups like the Hizbul Mujahideen. Given its nuclear capability, Pakistan has succeeded in significantly constraining India’s conventional options. The Pakistan perception was reinforced during the 1999 Kargil conflict as India’s response was rather measured.
India’s approach to cross-border terrorism remained reactive, marked by restraint, although public opinion was often for strong military action against Pakistan, especially after the terror attacks at Parliament in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008. The Pakistan army has been able to regulate the proxy war and keep the Indian security forces engaged while imposing substantial costs, knowing that India lacks effective deterrence. The Pakistan assumption did get challenged when India undertook surgical strikes across the LoC in 2016 and the air strike at Balakot in 2019. Thereon, Pakistan’s approach has been to avoid major actions so as to obviate retaliation.
With the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and reorganising of J&K into two union territories, the situation in the Valley has shown a marked improvement. Consequently, Pakistan changed its strategy by shifting the operations from the Kashmir valley to the south of the Pir Panjal — the Jammu region — after almost two decades. Over the last three years, the Rajouri-Poonch region has witnessed a series of terror strikes, with the security forces suffering significant losses. The recent incidents in Reasi, Doda, Kulgam and Kathua are the handiwork of the LeT and JeM, with the Resistance Force and Kashmir Tigers being the respective front faces of these outfits. The continued proxy war underscores the fragility of the situation in the region.
For Pakistan, the proxy war against India is a lucrative option. It offers high returns at a minimal cost. Rawalpindi has shown flexibility to exploit vulnerabilities across the Indian borders and the hinterland. Hence, India must accept this reality and shed the notion of perceiving it to be just cross-border terrorism. Further, it must stop dealing with the situation in piecemeal binaries — North-South of the Pir Panjal and LoC-IB sectors — as also the notion that the Pakistani designs can be defeated by reactive tactical operations.
It is imperative for India’s security planners to formulate a national strategy encompassing politico-diplomatic-economic measures to make it cost-prohibitive for Islamabad to continue with the misadventure. The collusion between Pakistan and China needs to be factored in as the latter is now a stakeholder in the game. Alongside, there is an immediate requirement to formulate an integrated ‘counter-proxy war doctrine’, which should be multi-dimensional, encompassing operations across the LoC to destroy terrorists’ launch pads and target Pakistani posts assisting infiltration at the LoC, to create a conducive environment and favourable ecosystem. The CFA needs to be abrogated as it provides immunity to the Pakistan army against punitive actions by the Indian security forces.
In J&K, since 1990, around 6,480 security personnel have lost their lives and about 38,720 civilians have been killed (including an unspecified number of terrorists). Evidently, India has paid a heavy price. It is time to replace the existing format with a prudent strategy and operational doctrine to defeat the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war. Else, we are destined to continue to suffer the fait acc
