Periscope: Postscript Pathankot

On January 10, 2016, the media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dissatisfied by the manner in which the terror attack on Pathankot Air Force base from January 2-5 had been dealt with, despite prior intelligence, decided to set up a new ministry of homeland security which will be reporting directly to him (i.e. Prime Minister’s Office). It will act as the single window for dealing with terror attacks on India.

Given the growing threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the continuous terror threats emanating from Pakistani soil, this move is a welcome step even if late. This should have been done after the 26/11 terror strikes on Mumbai.

Having visited the US whilst in service in 2005, I am familiar with the highly effective US department of homeland security. A professional organisation that encompasses elements of customs, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Coast Guard, Air National Guard, immigration authorities at airports, seaports, land border crossings, Drug Enforcement Agency, Internal Revenue Service, the police, the national guard, etc., all linked with real time communication and situational awareness.

If the proposed Indian system is to succeed, it must preferably emulate the American example, which includes the Patriot Act, 2001. The American’s admit that it’s a draconian act, but they say it’s necessary to fight terror. What’s good for them is good for us. And we must ensure that the staff comprises highly trained professionals with little or no bureaucrats.

Unfortunately, it appears that our higher defence and security management,  which comprises unaccountable bureaucrats, has not learnt lessons from 9/11 or our pathetic response to 26/11, which made us the laughing stock of the world.
The media, while analysing the attack on the Pathankot airbase and the Indian consulate at Mazar-e-Sharif, has done a good job, they have missed one vital point — the Pakistan Army Chief, Raheel Sharif, has not only the Army under his direct command, also the Inter-Services Intelligence.

As per some media reports, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (which carried out the devastating Mumbai 26/11 attacks), and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (which carried out the recent Pathankot and Mazar-e-Sharif attacks) are also suspected to be under his command.

If this is proved, than one can assume that such terror attacks on India are not sponsored by rogue elements of the Pakistan Army or the ISI, but by an “expendable and deniable extensions” of the Pakistan Army. The moment Mr Modi and Nawaz Sharif surprised the world with their Christmas Day meeting which, apparently due to “short notice” was not attended by the Pakistan Army Chief appointed and trusted NSA (the recently retired Lt. Gen. Naseer Khan Janjua), the General Headquarters Rawalpindi set in motion its two pronged deniable attack on the Pathankot airbase and the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, with the aim of getting maximum publicity by killing hostages and destroying Indian Air Force planes and helicopters.

Unlike 26/11, this time media reports indicate that Indian intelligence did a commendable job by providing actionable intelligence almost 20 hours in advance, while it appears that the Americans provided intelligence about the impending attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The attack on the Indian consulate was neutralised with no Indian casualties partly due to the professionalism of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) inside the consulate, along with the Afghan forces outside, who were led personally by the local governor Ata Mohammad Noor (a former Mujahideen fighter of the anti-Taliban northern alliance) and since this consulate was located in Afghanistan, it was immune to faulty decision-making by the NSA-led New Delhi team.

I will not go too much into the Pathankot airbase attack, since it has been covered very extensively by the media, except to state that like 26/11, we have again become the laughing stock of the world, which is aware that we had 50,000 Army troops (including special force battalions and armoured brigades) in Pathankot, and yet the NSA chose to send 210 National Security Guard commandos instead of assigning the task to the military.

Media reports indicate that the command of the Indian operations was changed two to three times in four days, thus adding to the confusion. My retired Army friends tell me that two infantry battalions (1,500 men) would have formed an impenetrable external perimeter outside the base, and another battalion (750 men) could have been kept inside the airbase as additional security. This entire operation should have been under a single Army commander, thus preserving the basic principles of “single command, concentration of force and the right specialist force for the task”.

There are mixed reactions to the attacks in India, with some calling for cancellation of the January 15 foreign secretaries talks, while some are focusing on the positive signs emanating from Islamabad. In my opinion, if the direct complicity of the Pakistan Army in these terror attacks is proved, then a new strategy needs to be implemented, i.e. always continue “uninterrupted” talks with Pakistan at various levels, but concurrently commence and continue “uninterrupted and deniable tit-for-tat” proxy war against the Pakistan military and its “terrorists”.

There is another equally serious issue which Mr Modi needs to address urgently, since he also decides on nuclear retaliation against a WMD attack on India by virtue of chairing India’s “Political Council” of the NCA which receives advice from the executive council of the NCA headed by the NSA. Given our terrible track record — the IC-814 hijacking on December 24, 1999, the attack on Parliament on Decem-ber 13, 2001, the 26/11  attacks  and now the Pathankot airbase attack — I feel, an urgent restructuring of the NCA  needs to be considered. In case of a nuclear attack, there is no room for errors in higher security decision-making. Here also the basic principle should be to induct real professionals into the team that takes decisions.

The writer retired as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam