where-did-pahlagam-terrorists-vanish

Twelve days have passed since the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 innocent people dead. The security and intelligence agencies appear to have no clue as to where did all those terrorists vanish. Those responsible for the “criminal negligence” appear to be getting the shield of collective outrage of the nation against Pakistan, the mastermind. Nobody has any doubts about that. There is a complete consensus about the sponsors of this horrendous act.

 

The terror act was undoubtedly ordered by, and executed at the behest of Pakistani army and the Inter-Services Intelligence. The incident was preceded by a highly provocative speech made by Pakistan army chief Asif Munir. But the act was executed deep inside India, a place that is about 200 kilometers away from the nearest point on Line of Control or international border.

 

The entire political opposition has also been reflecting the government’s view on the issue. Given the seriousness and the sensitivity of the matter, the opposition has exercised complete restraint and has not held the government to account over a grave security and intelligence lapse. This is indeed a welcome development. This is quite understandable that the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister or the Home Minister cannot be held responsible for the incident, but that does not mean those responsible for the grave lapses on the ground are let off. So far, there seems to be no intention to fix the responsibility as what went wrong on the ground that a group of terrorists walked in, killed people at their sweet will and vanished undeterred, unchallenged, unscathed and unharmed.

 

Those responsible for the “grave lapse” must not be allowed to go scot-free in the wave of patriotic anger and outrage. Pakistan is undoubtedly the mastermind and the main culprit. But who facilitated the success of Pakistan’s intentions and the malicious mission? It would not have been possible had there been no intelligence and security lapses. The government has also not fixed any responsibility so far. While the country seethes in rage, the lapses are getting covered up.

 

By now, the government should have come out with a detailed prognosis of the incident. Till now the country knows only one thing: that the terror act was orchestrated by and from Pakistan. In fact, nobody needed to tell us that. Everyone knows that. What the country wants to know is who executed the act and who “let” it get executed whether by callous and criminal negligence or with wilful connivance. And it was both; criminal negligence by some and wilful connivance by others.

 

A country that has been fighting the insurgency for 35 years is expected to have some level of expertise in intelligence gathering and security of its people in the insurgency hit areas. How could such an incident, when it was being planned and its logistics were worked out, like movement of men and ammunition to get it executed, go unnoticed and undetected? Terrorists who came from Pakistan obviously must have infiltrated through the Line of Control or even the international border. There is a possibility that they could manage to slip into India unnoticed, as it is a long line of control and border. They needed to travel at least 200 km to reach the spot where they killed the helpless, unarmed, unprotected and unsuspecting tourists? What happened to much touted multi-tier security apparatus?

 

The second grave failure is that there were no security arrangements in place to deal with such situation. How could those responsible for providing security to people overlook the risk that there was not single security personnel deployed anywhere around? The tourists were left like sitting ducks in a far off and cut off meadow with such difficult access. So much so, the victims found it difficult to escape on foot. This is one of the worst ever security lapses where tens of thousands of tourists from the rest of the country were left unguarded and unprotected. There were no warning signs either.

 

The third failure is the inability of the security agencies to nab the culprits even after ten days of the incident. Where did all of them vanish? Those holding responsible positions need to explain and answer. 26 innocent tourists were killed so brutally and nobody has been identified and arrested so far.

 

While the country awaits the action against the mastermind, Pakistan, it also expects that those responsible for the callous and criminal lapse, that allowed Pakistan to succeed in its design, are also held accountable. After all, without the negligence of those responsible for intelligence gathering and security cover, the terrorists would not have succeeded in killing people so wantonly. More shocking is that they came, they killed and they vanished in the proverbial thin air, without any resistance or reaction from anywhere. These questions are as important to be answered as the lesson Pakistan needs to be taught.

 

Heads must have rolled down by now, but none has rolled down so far. It is doubtful whether any heads will ever roll. The issue is already getting diluted. The narrative was shifted on the day one, from the killings towards the “display” of “selective” humanity. “Protests” against the killings, got precedence over the killings. The actual act of terror and killings were calculatedly overshadowed by the “display” of the “outpouring” of grief and it was duly appreciated across the country as if the incident was expected to be celebrated publicly.