Indian Defence Review

A heavily armed team of terrorists and Pakistani troops ambushed an Indian Army patrol along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of August 7, killing five Indian soldiers. The incident occurred just hours after the ceasefire violation in Samba sector on 6 August evening in which one BSF soldier was injured.

The Army said 15-20 terrorists, backed by Pakistani Army regulars, intruded into the Indian territory after crossing over the LoC at about 1 AM and ambushed the six-member Indian patrol near the Sarlah post of Poonch Brigade near the Chakkan-da-Bagh area, over 200km away from Jammu. “Five of our soldiers from the 21 Bihar Regiment died in the fire fight around 450 meters inside our territory, while one was injured,” said an officer.

It is a well-planned and deliberate attack as the Pak troops crossed over and ambushed the Indian patrol without provocation. The action is the most serious incident after the killing of two soldiers and the beheading of one of them in January. There have also been a series of other provocative actions recently in which a number of BSF personnel have been injured in firing. The attack has also to be seen in the context of an attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in Afghanistan in which the hand of Pakistan’s ISI may not be ruled out. Pakistan has completely denied the killings.

After triggering huge furore, Government made amends on 8 August by blaming Pakistan Army for the killing of five Indian soldiers and said the incident will have consequences on India’s behaviour on the Line of Control and ties with Pakistan.

Defence Minister A K Antony asserted in Parliament that India’s restraint should not be taken for granted nor should the capacity of its armed forces and government’s resolve to uphold the sanctity of the LoC be doubted.

Antony, who faced BJP fury in the Parliament, made a fresh statement in both Houses, saying his earlier contention about the involvement of “terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan Army uniform” was based on information available at that time. Since then the Chief of Army Staff has visited the area and gone into the details of the matter, he said.

“It is now clear that specialist troops of the Pakistan Army were involved in the attack when a group from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) side crossed the LoC and killed our brave jawans,” he said in the statement aimed at controlling damage done by the earlier version.

“We all know that nothing happens from Pakistan side of LoC without support, assistance, facilitation and often, direct involvement of Pakistan Army,” Antony said.

BJP had been rightly targeting Antony alleging that he had given clean chit to Pakistan Army and should apologise. The main opposition party paralysed Parliament for two days.

Taking a hard position, Antony told Parliament that the “brutal and unprovoked” attack on Indian side of the LoC in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir “outraged us all” and “naturally, this incident will have consequences on our behaviour on the LoC and for our relations with Pakistan.”

Sending out a message to Pakistan, he said, “Our restraint should not be taken for granted; nor should the capacity of our armed forces and resolve of the Government to uphold the sanctity of LoC ever be doubted.” Antony said, “Those in Pakistan who are responsible for this tragedy and the brutal killing of two soldiers earlier this year should not go unpunished.

“Pakistan should also show determined action to dismantle terrorists networks, organisations and infrastructure and show tangible movement on bringing those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack in November 2008 to justice quickly,” he said.

The recent attacks by the Pak Army and the intrusions by the PLA gets one to think that the Indian Army under its current leadership is thoroughly incompetent, unprofessional and worse, lacks guts and courage. However, the Army is neither to be blamed nor accused of incompetency alone. It is the present government, which is suffering from policy paralysis on the defence and national security issues. The Army is facing three main hurdles in thwarting the attacks from across the LoC.

Firstly, there is a shortage of 14,550 officers in the Army alone. How can the Army carry out its active operational duties without the junior leadership, which is backbone of all ground operations both defensive and offensive? Why is our top brass silent and the MoD passive in not taking action in recruiting the cream of youth in the defence forces by making it more attractive and lucrative because the country’s integrity and sovereignty is involved. The young officers (not available due to deficiencies) who are aggressive and fast in taking decisions always lead the patrols along LoC.

For filling up the deficiencies India can open Emergency Commissioned Officers recruitment by imparting them training for six months and subsequently making them regular as it was done after 1962 Chinese onslaught. But the UPA Government should have will to do it.

Secondly, the deficiencies of arms and ammunition as stated earlier by the former Army Chief General V K Singh have still not been completed. The latest night firing devices, guns, man packed radars and other modern defence equipment have still not been procured for the infantry soldiers who are carrying out the duties with whatsoever is available to them. The Chief of the Army Staff instead of going to Poonch should allow his Army, corps, divisional and brigade commanders to function independently and give them a free hand to retaliate under such circumstances as they are all capable of handling such situations. His visit is demoralizing for the troops that have suffered. He does not have to visit Poonch to find facts on the ground as he has been thoroughly briefed by his Army commanders about the situation on the ground.

Thirdly, Naresh Chandra Committee, a 14-member task force on national security, submitted its recommendations to the government on 8 August 2012. The committee was set up by the Union government on 21 June 2012 to suggest ways to revamp of defence management in the country.

The main objective behind the constitution of the committee was to contemporarise the Kargil Review Committee’s recommendations, which was tabled in the Parliament on 23 February 2000. Besides, the task force was also asked to examine the state of country’s border management and restructuring system.

The salient recommendations of the task force are –

1. Creation of a new post of Intelligence Adviser to assist NSA and the National Intelligence Board.
2. Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee who will be adviser to the Government on National Security and defence matters.
3. Deputation of officers from services up to Director’s level in MoD.

It is not understood as to why the recommendations of such a high-powered committee are not being implemented by the Government even after its submission last year. It only shows lackadaisical attitude of the Government in the national security and defence matters.

This incident has proved that the Indian Prime Minister should not meet Nawaz Sharif and resume bilateral talks as doubts on Pakistan’s ability and sincerity in pursuing the peace process have seriously arisen again. The proposed meeting between the prime ministers of both countries in New York next month should not be held under such circumstances. The Nawaz Sharif government’s expressed keenness to restart the dialogue cannot be taken seriously as long as there are elements in Pakistan, which are intent on subverting the process. Whether it is a case of double dealing or helplessness on the part of the Pakistan government, it only further vitiates the atmosphere and makes progress much more difficult.

Lodging a protest with Islamabad over the killings is the routine response, and it has been done. India must read the message of the killings carefully before it moves forward. Has it done enough to secure the borders?