The cat was out of the bag a long time ago but now the tiger has escaped from its cage. Pakistan- based terror groups who are known for taking orders from the Pakistan Army went against the advice of the Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) to plan and execute suicide attacks in Jammu with no less than 17 jehadis. This is bad news for India, but could possibly be a whole lot worse for Pakistan.
The jehadi mutiny is clearly spelt out in an Indian intelligence note that has details of a meeting attended by ISI officers and representatives of Pakistan- based terror outfits at the Laswa Mosque in Lahore on September 20, 2013. Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai 26/ 11 attack, represented the Lashkar- e- Tayyeba at this meeting.
According to the note dated October 8, 2013, based on information received from the Directorate General of Military Intelligence the agenda of the meeting was to “ plan attacks on Indian security forces and inflict maximum casualty”. “ ISI Brigadier opined that no repeat strike should be carried out due to forthcoming meeting of prime ministers of India and Pakistan. Terrorists were adamant to carry out the attacks at the earliest,” the note says.
According to the intelligence note, the meeting was rescheduled for the same evening without any representation from ISI or the Pakistan Army. “ Ter- rorists leaders agreed to send given number for cadres for carrying out suicide attacks,” the note said.
The meeting on September 20 was attended by Brigadier Javed Hussain Shah, Hafiz Saeed ( Lashkar- e- Tayyeba) Abdul Razzak ( Jaish- e- Mohammed) Fazal Sayeed Hakeeni ( Tehreq Ul Islami), Badshah Khan ( Hizbul Mujahideen) Chande Khan ( Jamait Ul Mujahideen) and Ah Marvat Zari ( Advisor).
The note further states that a group of 17 terrorists from the above terror outfits aged between 17 and 23 years infiltrated into the Samba sector on September 25 and 26 and the targets assigned were a church, Army school, Army camps and a Christian school.
On September 26, four terrorists crossed the international border and entered Jammu from Pakistan, storming a police station in Kathua and attacking an Army camp in Samba, killing 10 people.
Experts are of the opinion that terrorists overruling the Pakistan Army is an indicator of changing internal dynamics and lack of clarity as to what is happening in Pakistan.
“ Terror groups seem to have acquired their own autonomy in the set- up even though the Army remains in control. It is part of the internationalisation of terror from within Pakistan,” says Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, former director of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses.
Prakash Singh, former DG, Border Security Force, says this is indicative of terrible developments waiting to take place. “ A group like the LeT is a state within the state with more than 1 lakh footsoldiers.
They have developed into a formidable force and it is difficult to contain them,” he said. G Parthasarthy, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, doesn’t agree. He says it’s difficult believe that terror groups can go against the Army, their “ boss”. Intelligence agencies meanwhile continue to worry about the information of 17 terrorists infiltrating in the Samba sector in Jammu since only four have been accounted for till now: three were killed and one managed to escape after the September 20 attack.
An intelligence note based on telephone intercepts by intelligence agencies was generated on September 28 about more terrorists infiltrating in the Samba sector.
Specific intelligence inputs about terrorists entering through the International Border were generated last month, but the alert was ignored as armed terrorists managed to enter India to attack a police station and an army camp on September 26. The input was generated by intelligence agencies and security forces after the attack in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir near the LoC where five Army personnel were killed.
But there are some who don’t buy the leak. Writing for Firstpost , Praveen Swami has deconstructed the leaked document. Not doubting that the document is genuine, Swami refers to it and the leaking as “ a disgrace”. One, there is no Laswa masjid in Lahore. Two, some of the names of the jehadi leaders present at the purported meeting are suspiciously out of place, or plain wrong.
Third, the document says an ISI Brigadier spoke of the upcoming meeting of the Pakistani and Indian PMs but that was not possible since advance news of the meeting broke only on September 25. And finally, the C3 rating that Indian intelligence has given the leaked report reveals its official classification as ‘ poor quality’.
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