Attack on PNS Mehran : Dangerous Portents

Over the past few years, there have been numerous attacks on various Pakistani installations and personalities by radical Islamic individuals and organizations; including on high profile targets like Benazir Bhutto, GHQ and police training school.  However, in terms of sheer audacity, the attack on PNS Mehran on 22-23 May 11, takes the cake.  Despite Pakistani intelligence agencies warning the Armed Forces that the defence facilities are likely to be targeted, the militants could enter PNS Mehran and target two of its prized possessions- the modified P3C Orions.  Pakistani Navy has been targeted repeatedly in recent past and therefore should have been alert to the possibilities of a terrorist attack, especially as the Taliban had vowed to seek revenge after the elimination of Osama Bin Laden by the US.

PNS Mehran, a sprawling establishment is one of the two airbases of the Pakistan Navy and is the headquarters of PN aviation.  It shares a common runway with Faisal air base of PAF and houses most of Pakistani Navy’s aviation assets.  Six gunmen storm the base destroy two aircraft, kill over a dozen security personnel, injure another fifteen, fight for over sixteen hours and yet two of them manage to escape.  How is it that the militants knew where the aircraft were and which building housed what?  Like in all the previous attacks on military installations there was clearly collusion from inside.  The raiders knew the geography of the place rather too well and that probably enabled two of them to escape or melt away with the others, after holding the security forces for 16 hours.  It must also be mentioned that the Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman, who claimed credit for the attack mentioned that the base had been attacked by 15 to 20 men.  The interior minister initially gave the figures of 12 to 15 militants, navy’s initial FIR mentioned 12 militants, but the figure shrank to only four once the smoke was cleared.  Incidentally only three bodies were recovered and one was believed to be buried under the debris of the building blown up.   It is therefore quite likely that the number of attackers who disappeared was larger and the authorities do not wish to acknowledge this unpleasant fact to avoid further inflaming the public passions.   Is it possible for the terrorists to escape after fighting for 16 hours, when the whole base had been surrounded by the security forces?  It is more likely that the attackers simply merged with the inmates.

Almost all analysts have acknowledged the collusion by insiders in the attack, it is quite possible that some of the attackers were security personnel, who after achieving their objectives, joined their comrades in uniform.   The attackers not only knew where the ‘modified’ Orions were parked, they also knew where the aircraft should be attacked to cause the maximum damage.  It definitely indicates that at least some naval personnel from the base were hand in glove with the attackers.  The attackers also knew where the foreigners, 11 Chinese and 6 Americans, were staying, what the Americans were doing with Chinese in a Pakistani naval base is a different matter altogether.

Only an insider could have indicated the area of the security fence that was not being covered by the security cameras.  According to a leading security analyst from Pakistan, who has spent considerable time with the PN, the radicalisation in Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force is higher than in the Army.  There had been numerous incidents in the past, where Air Force personnel have been involved in activities against the state, in support of the radical elements.  Despite numerous attacks on naval installations and personnel, Pakistani media has not yet talked much about the involvement of naval personnel with radical outfits, although it is a well known fact that virtually every single attack on military installations by the Taliban and its associates has been carried out with the collusion of some insiders.

This brings out another dangerous aspect of Pakistan’s security forces, that there are numerous closeted radicals floating around within the security forces, as was revealed by the assassination of Salman Taseer.   This raises serious doubts about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.  While Pakistan should have elaborate security arrangements in place for the safety of its nuclear weapons, it may always be feasible for the Taliban or its symapathisers within the Armed Forces to get access to some stockpile of radioactive material, which can then be used to build a ‘Dirty Bomb’.  The fact that PNS Mehran is just 15 miles from Masroor Air Base, which is believed be the largest depot for Pakistani  nuclear weapons, gives further credence to such possibilities. It is therefore imperative for the international community to ensure the safety of Pakistani radio-active material, so as to preclude a terrorist attack using these radiological devices.      

Despite Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack, many Pakistanis are still trying to discover a ‘foreign hand’ in the attack.  There is no doubt that the destruction of two out of three ‘modified’ Orions does degrade PN capability, but the Pakistani Navy has never been a major threat to India.  On the other hand, PN is a part of the naval ‘Task Force 150’, which is sanitizing Northern Arabian Sea for Al Qaeda and its sympathizers.  It therefore makes immense sense for Al Qaeda and its affiliates to eliminate the ‘eyes’ of the Pakistan Navy and this probably explains that the P3C Orions and the foreign nationals were the targets of attackers on PNS Mehran.

Alok Bansal is a Senior Fellow at CLAWS

(The views expressed in the article are that of the author and do not represent the views of the editorial committee or the centre for land warfare studies).