J K News Today
Jammu, December 18
Saturday afternoon’s ambush of an army convoy by militants at Pampore, near Srinagar , illustrates that there was something amiss as far as the vigil was concerned because in the absence of local support and the holes in the security system , this attack could not have taken place. Three soldiers would not have lost their lives.
There is a fundamental premise that terrorists retain the element of surprise in timing and the place of their choice in attacking their targets . Similar thing happened here, except for the fact that the place of their attack was well known for they had mounted attacks around this place time and again this year. They marked the closing days of the year with yet another startling attack.
Losing soldiers like this, after having the bitter experience of Uri and Nagrota , Baramullah, Handwara , some kind of strategy should have been put in place to avert such attacks on the convoys. Pampore is particularly notorious for three major attacks this year .
The crucial missing element was the lack of coordination and synergy among various wings of the security forces. That the army personnel were not deployed along the route frequented by the convoys of the security forces or there was no road opening parties are not important factors . The “ high-level of synergy and coordination among the forces and agencies,” is just a cliché . The battle of prestige is another factor that has been responsible for such attacks till yesterday and the possibility of the same cannot be ruled out in future.
Governor N N Vohra has told all the security wing officers to enhance the level of vigil and ensure proper coordination . This is the message that surfaced when he phoned the army , paramilitary and police officers on November 29, when terrorists struck at Nagrota camp causing death of the seven soldiers, including two officers of the rank of Majors .
“ The Governor had expressed serious concern about the repeated terrorist attacks on security forces and Pakistan’s continuing attempts to exacerbate the situation while India was seeking to restore peace and normalcy,” an official spokesman had quoted Vohra having told the senior army commanders and heads of other forces, including the civil administration in the state. And he had urged all of them to enhance surveillance on every front.”
It was almost an echo of his message at a security review meeting after terror attack at Pathankot air base n the opening days of this year to have security audit of all the security establishments. He had particularly asked for the securing of borders and the vital installations .
But as the events unfolded in the subsequent months, the security apparatus was found wanting at the time when it was supposed to be highly vigilant . The attacks in Uri, Nagrota and Pampore revealed it all.