Jammu and Kashmir-Combating Islamic Fundamentalist Mercenaries
23 Jun, 2000 · 369
While pointing out that the situation in J&K today is neither militancy nor insurgency, Subhash Kapila prescribes certain operational techniques that can be adopted by the Indian Armed Forces in combating Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries
A charade has been played by the Indian media and Government by terming the armed conflict in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) as the handiwork of Kashmiri militants fighting for
Independence
. This is not realistic or preventative of the true state of affairs. Firstly, labeling them as Kashmiris is incorrect as only the Valley Muslims are involved. The other Muslims in
Jammu
and Ladakh are not involved. Secondly, the Valley Muslims’ militancy was contained by the security forces by 1998, and the situation was moving towards normalcy.
Pakistan
became rattled by the waning of the militancy due to disgust of the average Valley Muslim with atrocities on their women folk and disruption of their lives by the “Pakistani Jehadis,” which spawned the Kargil War. The diversion of our security forces from the Valley to Kargil enabled
Pakistan
to put into place two nefarious schemes. They pumped hundreds of Pakistani Jehadis, Afghan Mujahidden and Islamic fundamentalists into the Valley. Their main tasks were liquidation of erstwhile militants who had joined the mainstream and escalate violence and armed conflict, not only in the valley, but also in
Jammu
and Doda regions. An additional task was to carry out ethnic cleansing of minorities from these regions.
Kashmir
today is not one of Valley Muslims’ militancy but a full scale armed conflict launched by
Pakistan
to undo the accession of J&K to
India
in 1947.
Pakistan
is using Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries of all hues in J&K namely Pakistani Jehadis from ‘madrassas’, Afghan Mujahideen mercenaries and Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries from other Islamic countries.
Indian
State
.
Pakistan
against
India
by using Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries with the rallying cry of Islam in danger. It is a pity that Indian secularists and the liberal fraternity have closed their eyes to this aspect. Obliviousness to this danger spells for the Indian nation state. The Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries in J&K need to be targeted and liquidated ruthlessly.
The situation in
Combating Islamic Fundamentalist mercenaries
Military operations against these mercenaries needs to be guided by the following operational principles:
1. Islamic fundamentalist mercenaries are neither Indian citizens nor soldiers of an opposing army participating in a declared state of War.
2. Thus, these mercenaries do not qualify for any humane treatment under Human Rights Codes, nor do they qualify under the Geneva Conventions.
3. They must be dealt with ruthlessly. If captured, the death penalty by firing squad is the least punishment they deserve.
4. This should apply also to those Indian citizens, Kashmiri or otherwise, who aid, abet or assist Islamic Fundamentalist mercenaries in J&K. Such Indian citizens forfeit their citizenship when they aid the enemy, waging war against the
Operational Techniques for use Against Islamic Fundamentalist Mercenaries
Islamic Fundamentalist mercenaries operating in J&K have the following vulnerabilities:
· They operate in small bands, and are incapable of offering sustained armed resistance in pitched battles.
· Present targeting patterns indicate suicide bomber attacks against Headquarters of security forces, communication set-ups, use of IEDs against convoys, and liquidation of Government informers with specific targeting of erstwhile militants.
· Ethnic cleansing in the Valley and Doda.
· They have limited logistic sustainability unless supported by ammunition and explosives catches located in inaccessible areas. Islamic Fundamentalist mercenaries have shown preference for the Pir Panjal ranges and Doda Distt.
These vulnerabilities need to be exploited by the security forces. Broad operational techniques by Security Forces to deal with threat are as follows:
1. Greater resort to helicopter-borne operations, both surveillance and assault on mercenaries hideouts in the Pir Panjal, Doda and Kupwara areas. The Pir Panjal ranges are devoid of forests and facilitate such operations.
2. Special Forces of the Indian Army are under-utilized both in peace and war. It is high time the entire weight of these forces is brought to bear against these mercenaries.
3. Mining of preferred routes of infiltration /exfiltration used by these mercenaries.
4. Mercenaries cannot stay indefinitely in J&K, they have to exfiltrate at some stage and be replaced by new Jehadis. The exfiltration process and the routes used are most vulnerable and need to be exploited to inflict casualties on the mercenaries.
5. Armed police forces like the BSF and CRPF are neither trained nor equipped to deal with Islamic mercenaries. Greater reliance will have to be placed on Army and Rashtriya Rifles resources. Requirement exists for raising more such battalions and those of the Territorial Army.
6. The Indian Air Force needs to be co-opted and integrated into the Army’s efforts to combat Islamic mercenaries by surveillance, bombing of hideouts and air assaults using helicopter gun ships.
7. The Army must devise its own intelligence set up in J&K over and above the RAW and IB so that it has actionable intelligence readily available.
8. Since the Islamic mercenaries have to depend on local support, the Government must task the IB for penetrating anti-Indian political groups supporting Pak designs. They could thus get information of infiltration/exfiltration plans also.
Conclusion
The situation in J&K today is neither militancy nor insurgency. It is an all out war imposed by
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