At whom do we point the fingers?

It should be said that, we ourselves provided an open season for the terrorists. The terrorists planned by synchronizing the loopholes in our security measures.

The clamour for revenge and surgical strike 2.0 was resounded all over India after a suicide attack on the Indian army trucks and the death of 40 Indian soldiers.

Pulwama, a district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir known as the rice bowl of Kashmir or Anand of Kashmir was established in the past 1970s with a motive to maintain law and order and to have a closer eye and effective control of Kashmir valley. Pulwama is now in news because of the attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed that purloined the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials.

Soon after the attack, a splitting of the loot began in the newsrooms as well as among the public. War is not a solution, rather it would open the pandora box. Yelling and screaming for war is quite easy, but on the other hand, planning and execution of a war on the ground is a herculean task. The ramifications on the ground as well as a serious issue to think about and it will never be in favour of any country. Killing the fellow Indians for Indians; how strange!

Before planning for a strike back we should contemplate the lapses happened from our own side. Umpteen number of doubts can be raised based on the flaws that led to Pulwama attack. The questions could raise the eyebrows of every individual who applies simple logic in his thoughts.

Firstly, one of the highly secured roads of the country was chosen by the attackers, by neglecting all the possible stringent security checks. Then explosives which are said to be more than 250 kg, was managed by the attacker to enter the countries most protected highway without catching the eye of any authorities. The convoy consisted of 78 vehicles and it offers a 4km target for the attackers and the roads were not properly sanitised. It should be said that we ourselves provided an open season for the terrorists. The terrorists planned by synchronizing the loopholes in our security measures.

A terror attack of this magnitude involves meticulous planning and myriad communications. Intelligence unit failed to tap such communications. Lapses in intelligence network have to be narrowed down on a war footing. Even though the highway can also be used by civilians all the vehicles were supposed to be under the security radar. The lack of proper monitoring or focus has resulted in a national loss. In short, this time brilliance of the attacker overpowered our security measures.

What helped the terrorists to understand when and where to strike to cause such devastation of wide magnitude? And, were our security agencies in hibernation? All these prove that the operation is well planned and everything went as they planned. They managed to strike at a proper time and space. Security agencies should have been more alert in such situations of tension. The Srinagar-Jammu highway is the most heavily guarded highway in the country and it is also identified as one of the insurgency hotbeds. Attacker, Aadil Mohammed lived under the nose of J&K Police and military, about 10 km away from the spot that was attacked. All these are the proofs for a serious security lapse. The investigation should be also extended towards the people within the security agencies as well; ‘when there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you’.

More than 2500 CRPF jawans were there in the convoy which was blasted at Pulwama. The size of the convoy by any standards was unusual. 1000 jawans in a convoy are the actual number so bundling 1500 more jawans require a proper explanation from the authorities. The heavy snowfall in the state which led to the closure of Jammu-Srinagar highway for several days have caused these jawans stuck at Jammu transit camp. Thus bad weather is being blamed for the stacking of soldiers in transit vehicles. But is that a convincing reason? While there was a report which provided warning about a terrorist attack, some priority to the lives of jawans must have been given and gathering over 2500 troops together and being a bait should have been avoided.

A blast in the highly secured area of the country has opened questions against the security measures of the country and the safety of its people. Meanwhile, opposition parties and the public started asking why Pulwama attack happened before elections, what led to these much lapses in our security measures and why the intelligence reports about a possible attack in the area had been ignored. A second surgical strike, or an open war, or at least a war declaration can be helpful in arousing the spirit of the people and this can be easily converted to votes for the ruling party. It is a time when the ruling party, opposition and the public should be united, think and move strategically and diplomatically. War is never a solution, it will create more bloodshed and fall of more fellow Indians. It can only exacerbate tensions and concerns.