Gurdaspur attack: A 10 day old intelligence alert that was missed

New Delhi, July 29: Intelligence had clearly failed and this was one of the major reasons leading up to the attack in Gurdaspur. When it came to intelligence in Punjab all the focus was on the revival of militancy in the state.

However an alert which was generic in nature suggesting that after repeated failures to infiltrate into Kashmir, terrorists would try and enter through Punjab was missed.

There was an alert that was picked up by the BSF around 10 days back which suggested that terrorists from Pakistan would try and use newer routes to infiltrate into India. The alert suggested that terrorists from Paksitan would try and come in using the Punjab border.

Focus was on Punjab militancy:

Since the past three years all the emphasis in Punjab has been in relation to the revival of militancy in the state. The focus of both the central and state intelligence units was on the possible revival of militancy in the state.

The Pakistan based groups such as the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba or the Jaish-e-Mohammad have shown no real intent of carrying out any strike in Punjab.

Instead these groups have been accused by the Indian Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing of providing shelter to several militants from Punjab and helping them revive.

However in the past few months, Paksitan groups have made various attempts to infiltrate into India through Kashmir. There have nearly a dozen infiltration bids that have been foiled by the Border Security Force. Around ten days back there was an alert that suggested that terrorists from Pakistan may attempt using the Punjab side of the border to infiltrate into India.

A surprise attack from Pakistan:

The attack at Gurdaspur came a surprise for many officers. Gurdaspur had not even been on the radar of the terrorist groups. In fact the last concrete alert that was sounded at Gurdaspur was in the 1990s and it was related to some militants from Punjab attempting a strike. While the BSF did have the alert, the same was not considered to be actionable.

In addition to this there are no known modules of the Lashkar or Jaish in Punjab. There has been an unseen understanding between the terror groups of Pakistan and Punjab not to interfer in each others territory. Hence to this extent, the attack carried out by the Lashkar or the Jaish-e-Mohammad at Gurdaspur came as a surprise.

OneIndia News