Strengthen defences, keep talking to Pakistan

It would not do to sensationalise the day-long terrorist encounter in Gurdaspur in Punjab on Monday in which a police officer of SP rank was shot dead by armed elements who were almost certainly infiltrators from across the border who had used Indian military uniform as camouflage. Nor will it do for any party to seek to press political advantage in a matter such as this.

This is the third militant attack in this area in recent months, the last being on the Pathankot-Kathua stretch of the NH. In that incident, a small Army installation was attacked by infiltrators in Army fatigues. This time around, the terrorists barged into the Dinanagar police station of Gurdaspur.

The districts of Pathankot and Gurdaspur border Pakistan and it is easy for infiltrators to slip through on account of rivulets. Indeed, Pathankot was made a separate district only four years ago. Earlier it was a part of Gurdaspur which had been claimed by Pakistan in 1947. In 1947, before the Jammu-Srinagar highway was built, Gurdaspur was India’s only land link to Jammu and Kashmir. That is the measure of its strategic importance even now.

Our failure lies in not strengthening defences in this area although this is the third strike this year. Taking steps to forestall militant activity from across the border will go farther than loudly proclaiming a Pakistani hand. The government, in any case, should resist the temptation to grandstand by taking some “strong” action. Quiet, but effective, work goes a longer way in these situations.

The positive aspect of the infiltration and military stand-off at the police station was that it appears to have nothing to do with any imaginary return of Sikh militancy in Punjab. From a strategic perspective, dealing with a detachment of a Pakistani group such as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba is a far easier proposition.
If the matter is to be discussed in Parliament, it could be in the broader context of relations with Pakistan. After the recent meeting of Indian and Pakistani PMs at Ufa during the SCO summit, there has been regular exchange of fire between the militaries of the two countries across the Line of Control. It would be less than wise to treat the Gurdaspur episode, and whatever the Indian riposte that might follow, as the opening of another front.

It might be better to take the required steps without high-velocity publicity and simultaneously carry on with diplomatic engagement with Islamabad. This is likely to make it easier for the government to be politically effective in Kashmir, provided the Narendra Modi government can take steps to establish goodwill and social legitimacy in the Valley.