FairPoint: Is Local Support the Key to Disrupting Pakistan's Network in Kashmir?

New Delhi, April 27 (NationPress) The pivotal connection in the April 22 Pahalgam terror incident is the local assistance that enabled the terrorists, including some from Pakistan, to carry out their nefarious scheme right under the watchful eyes of security personnel.

An unidentified individual cannot arrive at a specific location armed with heavy weaponry, commit acts of violence, and then disappear into dense forests. The Pahalgam plan significantly involves local residents, as highlighted by the families of the victims and other visitors.

The local accomplices may include ponywallas, shopkeepers, hotel staff, those who reopened areas without informing authorities, or even police officers who overlooked the irregularities. This situation may stem from either a failure of intelligence or, if information was available, from willful negligence or mishandling.

In Kashmir, the unexpected often reigns, and frequently, what is apparent is not the complete truth. There is always a main storyline and an underlying narrative. The valley has seen extensive scheming since Sheikh Abdullah became the first Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir following the merger with India in 1947.

However, these plots have grown increasingly brutal with the rise of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the region. This wave of violence is more about Islamization than the purported quest for freedom or 'azadi.'

If it were a true struggle for liberation, the ethnic cleansing of Hindus, who constituted a mere two percent of the population, would not have taken place. The underlying objective was to displace them and seize their lands, homes, temples, and institutions, which has been largely accomplished.

This situation began in the late 1980s and persists today. Over 35 years later, Hindus remain uprooted from their ancestral lands, with the few who remain living in government camps under heavy protection. If there were only a handful of terrorists without local support, would this have been achievable? The answer is no.

Pakistan has effectively exploited religious sentiments to keep Kashmiris unsettled and has enticed many to comply with its agenda.

Almost every Kashmiri Hindu family that was forced from their homes has harrowing stories to tell, with the primary culprits often being locals – neighbors, colleagues, friends, and shopkeepers – who colluded with terrorists to perpetrate killings, kidnappings, and thefts.

It is the local radicalized individuals who constitute the vital link in all terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, including the April 22 Pahalgam assault.

A female tourist identified a ponywalla as a suspect in the Pahalgam attack. She even took a picture of him, as he inquired about her religion.

The woman recounted that the man produced a phone concealed in his boots, claiming he was directing 35 individuals into the valley. According to her account, he stated that 'plan A has failed' and spoke of firearms, which alarmed her.

This incident occurred on April 20, and she noted that the man did not seem to belong to the ponywalla group while they ascended toward Baisaran. If true, this raises many questions and implicates other ponywallas too.

Highlighting the local connection is essential for two main reasons: without their assistance, the perpetrators would struggle to succeed, and once a terrorist act occurs, these connections often go unnoticed. They seldom appear on any security radar and frequently evade detection.

Kashmir has experienced widespread violence since the late 1980s, with the brunt of the suffering borne by Kashmiri Hindus, who ultimately faced ethnic cleansing and became refugees in their homeland. When Kashmiri Pandits were targeted in the late 1980s and 1990s, it was often their own acquaintances who betrayed them – neighbors, subordinates, colleagues, or even friends.

Prominent individuals, including BJP leader Tika Lal Taploo, Justice Neel Kanth Ganjoo, writer Sarvanand Kaul Premi (and his son), Radio Kashmir Director Lassa Kaul, telecom engineer B.K. Ganjoo, and countless others were murdered after terrorists received tips about their locations.

Girja Tickoo, who was kidnapped, brutally gang-raped for days, and then sawed in half while still alive in June 1990, made one fatal error: she responded to a call from a colleague asking her to come collect her salary from her workplace.

She was abducted by five men from her colleague's residence, and no one intervened to help her.

B.K. Ganjoo, whose security detail inexplicably vanished one day in March 1990, was killed while hiding inside a drum in his home. His wife had concealed him there, but a Muslim neighbor observed this through an open window and alerted the terrorists.

There are thousands of similar accounts from Kashmir, where locals have aided terrorists in spreading fear. Whether it was the Wandhama massacre, the Nadimarg massacre, or numerous other attacks, each had local connections identifying and targeting the victims.

In the April 22 Pahalgam massacre, unsuspecting tourists were guided to the location, where the waiting terrorists launched their attack before disappearing. Protests have erupted in the valley in response, but they seem more concerned with the economic fallout than the loss of innocent lives.

If the locals genuinely desire peace, they must identify the hiding terrorists, whether involved in the Pahalgam attack or otherwise.

The local connection is the true and hidden antagonist in all the terror narratives in Jammu and Kashmir. Until they are disentangled, the radicalized local link remains a trophy for Pakistan in its nefarious ambitions.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)