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November 18, 2012 |  | By Rohit Singh | ||
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An average terrorist in J&K, it is said, has two years of life. They pose grave threats in their limited life time as a terrorist. But those who have more life are particularly grave threats to national security and expose the lack of a seamless network in India which continuously tracks the international, national and local terror trends and activities and feeds the intelligence analysis so gained down to the grassroots levels of the local thana. A recent arrest of a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist shows much of what is right in India’s Counter Terrorism efforts and yet much of what is wrong. First the right part. On 13 September this year an Army column apprehended a HM terrorist Mehrajuddin Dand aka Javed, resident of Naginbagh, Sopore at Kulyid Chowk, Kishtwar. It was a prized catch; for the individual was an important cog in the logistic wheel of the 1999 hijacking of IC-814 to Kandahar; had worked with Anees Ibrahim, brother of Dawood Ibrahim and had collected lakhs of rupees from Delhi; was in touch with HM leader, Syed Salahuddin (based in POK); was involved in a fake currency racket having printed lakhs of fake currency notes (important again for funding terrorist operations); was involved in printing fake passports and last but not the least was also involved in the logistics of carrying explosives for the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blasts in New Delhi. Significantly, this individual is 42 years old and had escaped to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in 1989 and had been operating in Pakistan, Nepal and India ever since which leads to the following questions; do police stations in Indian states bordering Nepal have data on individuals, particularly those from the heydays of terrorism – missing from J&K ; does any central agency have a data base on missing J&K individuals who, therefore, need to be tracked; and if so, is there any real time vertical and horizontal sharing of intelligence in India ? We all know that the proposal to set up the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is being watered down. Even after establishing MAC, NATGRID, amending the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), etc, when it comes to practically putting the dots, together, on ground to integrate and disseminate intelligence, we are still found wanting, as in proved by Javed’s case illustrated above after the states objected to its operationalisation on the plea that it would stymie their powers. There may be merits and demerits in the Centre and States arguments. But, in the meantime, the likes of Dand @ Javed, etc will continue to lurk in the shadows, forever plotting, conspiring, facilitating, operationalising and waiting for opportunities to strike. A terrorist and his master has time on his side and will play the waiting game, always assessing various factors before deciding on an action plan. In a year or two from now, India will be on the road to the next general elections. Last time, the terrorists struck was before the 2009 general elections. And, then the US was pressing Pakistan for an Army offensive in the West since the US troops surge was a mile away. Next time around, as Indian elections approach, the US will be drawing down on its troops in Afghanistan. Last time when the terrorists struck in Mumbai, the foreign component of LeT had support of local logistics (reluctantly acknowledged by the Indian Government). The presence of the likes of Javed apprehended on 13 Sep 12 reveal that next time LeT strikes, they can still count on local logistics. Whether we install the NCTC or not or institute watered down versions of it, there is no doubt that we need a central mechanism to join the dots and disseminate the intelligence in real time to all security agencies in the country. The terrorist does not distinguish from a Bihari to a Kashmiri or otherwise and sooner the states realize that they can better protect their citizens by evolving a common platform with the Centre, the better it will be for the safety of its citizens who at the time of strike may be in a target state other than that of their origin. It is encouraging that India has taken baby steps to institute an anti-hijacking policy in the country. Joining the dots by integrating R & AW, IB, NATGRID with all home ministries/police stations of the states is the need of the hour. Arrest of Javed who has had Pan-India footprints for so long with involvement in Lajpat Nagar bombing to IC-814 hijacking exposes the threats posed by terrorists as also the inadequacies of our intelligence networks more concerned in protecting their own turf on narrow interpretation of State powers, etc. What was right was that this long standing absconder was apprehended after all. The wrong part of it was that it took so long. As we approach 26/11, we need to get more things right. Rohit Singh is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi Courtesy: The Asian Age, 16 November 2012 | ||||||||
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Rohit Singh |
