The Hindu : Combating terror

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Combating terror

THE TERRORIST ATTACK on a colony of slum-dwellers in Jammu last Saturday that has left some 27 innocent persons — nearly half of them women — dead is the most heinous one since the May 14 Kaluchak incident, wherein the target were the families of security personnel. For its sheer brutality, barbarism and cowardliness, the latest episode ranks with Kaluchak and has rightly been condemned in the strongest of terms universally, reflecting the pervasive zero-tolerance attitude worldwide vis-a-vis terrorism of all hues. But it certainly falls into a pattern noticeable in the operational strategy of the foreign-backed insurgent elements especially in the context of the concerted anti-terror global campaign after September 11, 2001, with Pakistan, as a key ally of the U.S.-led coalition, turning the heat on them on its soil. In a sense, therefore, the July 13 Jammu massacre may well be yet another act of desperation on the part of the outlawed outfits such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba operating presumably in smaller groups and under new names. Initial reports suggest that the authorities suspect the hand of the LeT, although the final word is yet to be said. But then, in this treacherous game of terror, the label does not really count much particularly after its frequent change became a matter of expediency post-September 11.

In combating the terrorist menace in Jammu and Kashmir, a substantial part of which is attributable to the logistical and other support and encouragement Pakistan has been extending to the various jehadi groups, there is undoubtedly an unassailable case for working on different options to bring pressure on Islamabad to play its part by way of stopping cross-border terrorism. At the same time, the Centre can ill afford to belittle or ignore the equally important `domestic' components of the counter-insurgency strategic framework. They require, at one level, the positioning of professionally competent, well-equipped and effective anti-terror intelligence and combative mechanisms. The systems as are existing and their performance levels leave much to be desired, despite the official claims of `revamp' heard after every major terrorist attack. Concerns in this area need to be addressed in all seriousness and urgency in the context of the famed annual Amarnath Yatra and the impending elections to the State Assembly. In fact, the timing of the Jammu massacre itself suggests a `link' with these two upcoming events. If the Amarnath pilgrims have tended to be a `soft target' for the terrorist groups in recent years, the proposed democratic exercise is anathema to the jehadis, who would go to any length to sabotage it. This means one should expect many more such dastardly and provocative strikes in an attempt to scuttle the poll process, and it is for the Centre and the State Government to meet the challenge and frustrate such diabolical plans.

At a more fundamental level, the fight against insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir has a lot to do with reaching out to the large sections of the people who stand alienated from the political establishment for a variety of reasons. In recent months, there have been quite a few discernibly positive signs, apart from a palpable yearning for peace across the State, and at least some of them are traceable to the vigorous anti-terror global campaign. Therefore it is that the stakes are very high for the nation in making a success of the coming elections, not just in terms of the smooth conduct of the exercise; it has to be free, fair and one with as wide a participation by different ideological streams of political opinion as possible. For this to happen, the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government has to come up with some imaginative and credible policy initiatives such as to inspire the confidence of the alienated sections and induce them to participate in the democratic process.

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