My Opinion

The death of two persons and injuries to 27 others in a grenade blast at the Jammu bus stand on Thursday clearly points to a shift in the strategy of terror outfits and their handlers sitting across the border after India carried out sir strikes deep inside Pakistan.

They used a modus operandi in which it was impossible to prevent such an attack. A Kashmiri teenager with a red coloured rucksack on his back reaches Jammu from Srinagar by bus, throws the grenade under a bus, and then takes a bus ride back. Fortunately the color CCTV footage identified him, and the Jammu police nabbed him at the Nagrota check post within hours. The attacker claims that he was asked by a Hizbul Mujahideen commander to carry out this heinous job.

No amount of surveillance can prevent such attacks and the credit must go to Jammu and Kashmir police for nabbing the attacker in a span of four hours.

I would like to repeat what I had said a week back. Such terrorists mix with the common people, carry out their perfidious acts and then escape taking advantage of the crowd. It is not possible for the police or security agencies to nab such terrorists. The public at large must keep their eyes and ears open and watch for any suspicious person or activity. They must immediately inform the police to prevent such attacks. We should remember why Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that if 130 crore Indians remain ever vigilant, terrorists can never achieve their objectives.

I shall now mention an unfortunate incident that took place in Lucknow.

Some self-styled saffron activists beat up two Kashmiri traders selling dry fruits on a pavement, but were stopped due to timely intervention by a local citizen. The act of a handful of such people makes 130 crore Indians hang their heads in shame. The video of such hooligans thrashing Kashmiris became viral on the social media and bought a bad name to our country. Pakistan misuses these videos for its own benefit and terrorists use them to brainwash teenagers in Kashmir to instill a sense of hatred towards India.

Such hooligans must be given a severe and exemplary punishment and videos of such punishment should be forwarded on social media so that such fanatics may fear while committing such acts in future. The world can then see that India is a country that upholds the rights of all its citizens, irrespective of religion, caste, gender or class.
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India TV on Wednesday night showed exclusive visuals of how Pakistani authorities were sealing offices of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba in Lahore after the recent ban and allowing their cadres to lie low for a few weeks. We have also shown statements from senior Pakistani leaders who are openly saying that this action is purely temporary.

The Army spokesman’s claim takes the cake. Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, the Pakistani army spokesman, said at a briefing on Wednesday that Jaish-e-Mohammed does not exist in his country after the recent ban.

Clearly, Pakistan is under intense international pressure to take action against terror outfits. The world has taken notice of the brutal suicide bombing in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF jawans were martyred. Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s whereabouts are not being officially acknowledged, and his brother and son and 42 other leaders have been rounded up, only to be taken into ‘protective custody’.

India does not trust Pakistan’s words and actions. After 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the Pathankot air base strike, similar actions were taken against terror outfits, but soon afterwards these terror masterminds and their henchmen came out in the open and carried on with their nefarious terror activities. The only difference this time after the Pulwama attack is that Indian aircraft entered Pakistani airspace, decimated the terror camp on Pakistani soil, and the world stood by India on the issue of terrorism.

Soon after the Pulwama terror attack, Pakistan, anticipating a major strike, sent all the Jaish terrorists and huddled them inside the camp in Balakote, which was made a target by Indian Air Force on February 26. Indian intelligence agencies had gathered information about terrorists and their sympathizers making calls to Balakote, and on the basis of these info, the plan to target Balakote was prepared. Our air force hit the target perfectly and it was almost 80 per cent success, and this was later proved from other evidences gathered by our intelligence agencies.

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Under growing pressure from international community, Pakistan on Tuesday announced that it has taken Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s brother and son into ‘protective custody’ along with 42 others. The neighbouring country also put Jamaat ud Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, frontal outfits of Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed on the list of banned terror outfits.

Masood’s brother Abdul Rauf Asghar was the man who planned the IC-814 Kandahar hijacking in 1999, and he now runs the terror operations for Jaish. Masood Azhar’s son Hamad and brother Rauf figure in the dossier submitted by India after the Pulwama terror attack. However the name of Jaish chief is missing from the list, though there are reports that he may also be arrested any time soon. Pakistan’s Home Secretary has added a rider: these terrorists taken into custody could be released if the evidences submitted by India are not found actionable.

Pakistan’s actions against homegrown terrorists have been mostly of a cosmetic nature, to say the least. After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, Hafiz Saeed and his colleagues were put under protective custody. Hafiz Saeed challenged the order in court, the government’s advocate failed to appear in court and the Lashkar-e-Toiba chief was released.

There are also reports that Pakistan government is planning to induct all home grown terrorists from Jaish and Lashkar into its paramilitary forces. Reports say, the plan was prepared in December last year, but because of acute financial crisis, the plan was then shelved. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government has now decided to induct these terrorists into paramilitary forces, so that they can move around freely in uniform, and Pakistan can save itself from international opprobrium.

Meanwhile, the litany of lies from Pakistan continues. On Tuesday, Pakistan Navy claimed that it forced an Indian submarine from approaching its coast. This was promptly rejected by Indian Navy as baseless. We in India should remain alert about such spurious claims, because the enemy is resorting to lies and calumny to shore up its dwindling prestige.

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On February 26, when 12 Indian Air Force Mirage jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakote of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, more than 50 km inside Pakistan, Pakistani army spokesman told the world that there was no camp at the spot, and the ‘smart bombs’ that IAF jets delivered had fallen on open ground, and damaged only a few trees. The next day the Pakistani army conducted a press party to the spot and produced ‘tutored’ villagers who said there was not much damage in the area. The logical question is: Had there been not widespread damage, why did the Pakistan Air Force then tried to carry out a counter air-strike near the Line of Control the next day?

The lies are being exposed, one by one. Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s brother recently issued an audio message admitting that IAF planes attacked their camp, while sources in the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), a technical intelligence agency under the PM’s National Security Adviser, have revealed that there were more than 300 cellphones ‘active’ at the spot, on the night the IAF raid took place. It is a clear piece of evidence that not less than 300 Jaish operatives and their handlers were presumably present inside that camp that night, and all signs of the terror camp were removed by the Pakistani army soon after the air strike.

Pakistan’s second lie was that its F-16 fighter jet was not downed by IAF near the Line of Control the next day. On Thursday, senior Indian Air Force officers showed in Delhi, the broken pieces of AMRAAM missile, that can only be fitted to an F-16 jet. Pakistan has been suppressing news about the death of its own pilot who was flying the ill-fated F-16 jet. It has refused to accept that its pilot is dead. A day earlier, the Pakistani army spokesman had claimed that two IAF pilots were killed, but later the spokesman reduced the number from two to one on his Twitter handle.

The third lie that Pakistani social media peddled on March 4 was that IAF jets sent a missile near Fort Abbas in the Cholistan desert of Pakistan. Still pictures and video of the missile were circulated. Later the Indian Air Force announced that its Sukhoi jet has shot down a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that was hovering on the Pakistani side.

Spinning lies and then peddling them on media has been a standard trait of the Pakistani army establishment. What can one say when Pakistan, which is home to the largest number of terrorists and terror outfits, claims that it is itself a victim of terror? What can one say about Pakistan, which sends ‘non-state actors’ to carry out terror strikes in India, and then demands ‘actionable evidence’?

My view is that, a rogue country like Pakistan should never be allowed to live in peace, so long as its army does not uproot all the terror camps that it has been nurturing. It is in this context that our Air Force Chief ACM B. S. Dhanoa said on March 4 that the current operation against terror camps in Pakistan is ‘ongoing’.
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On Friday night at around 9.21 pm, Pakistan handed over our Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan at the Wagah border, but before making this humanitarian gesture, it circulated a video of Abhinandan, in which the IAF prisoner, clearly under duress, was made to “praise” the treatment meted out by his captors, and as an added dose, he was made to criticize the Indian media. This shoddy piece of cheap PR was done by the Pakistani army to gain brownie points, and the video itself showed more than three dozen cuts. The video was chopped to pieces, and badly edited.

As India salutes and welcomes back her brave warrior who downed a Pakistani F16 jet fighter, questions arise about the intentions of Pakistan in the current round of hostilities.

I would like to mention here an incident from our epic Ramayana, where Lord Rama waited on the seashore for several days, praying to the Sea God to allow access to his Vanara Sena (army of monkeys) to launch attack on the demon king Ravana’s kingdom Lanka. There was no response from the Sea God. Finally, an angry Lord Rama took out his bow and arrows to aim at the sea, vowing to vaporize the sea. The Ramayana notes that the Sea God, in a frightened state, appeared, and with folded hands appealed to Rama not to vaporize the sea, and willingly offered access to the Vanara Sena.

The moral of the story: Rod is the logic of fools (‘Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahin mantey’) Till now, Pakistan had been carrying out terror attacks in India, and we used to make appeals to Pakistan to desist from harbouring terrorists. The entire narrative changed after the Pulwama terror attack. They killed 40 of our CRPF jawans, and we decided to strike back, deep inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After we decimated their terror camp, Pakistan is now speaking the language of peace and offering dialogue.

My view is very clear: India need not show forgiveness or mercy to those who have caused mayhem on our soil. Pakistan was never trustworthy in the past, and it cannot be trusted now, nor in the future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands this clearly and he has already made up his mind. Any big terror attack, and India will strike back. He has got the support of most of the world’s big powers on this point. It is time to salute the strong leadership of our Prime Minister and also laud the valour displayed by our Armed Forces. The bravery and valour of our jawans, our officers, our pilots, our navy personnel, our border guards shall always remain etched in the memory of Indians. Forever.

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In the last three days, Indian Air Force decimated a major camp of Pakistani terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed deep inside their territory, and foiled attacks by PAF jets on our brigade HQ in Kashmir and forced them to flee. India exerted tremendous international pressure and forced Pakistan to release our IAF pilot Abhinandan. Indian army exposed Pakistan’s lies and showed to the world how it used F-16 jets for attack against Indian military installations in clear contravention of the promise it made to the US not to use F-16 for military action against India.

The question that is now being asked is whether India should accept the peace offer from Pakistan and start dialogue. On this issue, my view is very clear. India can start dialogue only if Pakistan takes credible action against terror outfits on its soil and hands over the masterminds of 26/11, Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama attacks, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India. Only then can both countries initiate any fruitful round of talks, otherwise it will be back to square one.

History is witness how Pakistan trained and sent terrorists to cause mayhem on Indian soil, and then always spoke about peace and offered talks. The pet dialogues are the same; only those who delivered these dialogues were different – Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf and now Imran Khan.

How can we forget the 2006 train blasts which killed hundreds of innocent people in Mumbai? How can we forget the 2013 brutal beheadings of our soldiers on Line of Control? How can we forgive those terrorists and their handlers who caused mayhem in Mumbai during the 26/11 attacks? How can we forget the terror attacks in Uri? In Pathankot? And, the latest in Pulwama where 40 CRPF jawans were killed by a maniac suicide bomber trained in Pakistan?

On every occasion, it was Pakistan which caused mayhem and bloodshed, and then offered peace. How can India trust Imran Khan’s words? The same drama was enacted, over and over again. The only difference this time is that Imran Khan is now facing a leader like Narendra Modi.

I clearly remember how Modi said in ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ show that we should stop writing “love letters” to Pakistan, and “we should respond to Pakistan in their own language”. With the surgical strike in 2017 and the spectacular air strike in Balakote this week, Modi has repaid Pakistan with the same coin.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is now making peace overtures to Modi, first through television and then via telephone, but our Prime Minister’s intention is very clear. Modi is of the firm opinion that if Pakistan fails to clear away the training camps of terrorism on its own soil, India will enter its space and eliminate the terrorists and their trainers. India will destroy terror camps inside Pakistan.

The ball is now in Imran Khan’s court. Imran will have to decide: when and how Pakistan will change for the better.

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On Wednesday, when Wing Commander Abhinandan, flying a Mig-21 Bison was taken into custody by Pakistani authorities, two videos immediately appeared on social media from Pakistani sources: one, showing the Wg Cdr being beaten by a group of Pakistani soldiers before being taken away by an officer, and the other, the blindfolded pilot disclosing his name, rank and service number.

As both these videos went viral on social media, there were outpourings of rage. It made the blood boil. By evening, Pakistani army tried to cover up these insulting videos by posting another video of Wg Cdr Abhinandan holding a cup of tea in hand, and ‘praising’ the Pakistani captors for their “kind treatment”. Circulation of such videos of a prisoner is prohibited under the Geneva Convention, because the motive was clearly to humiliate the prisoner and the Indian authorities, according to military legal experts.

India has already issued a demarche to Pakistan demanding early and safe return of the prisoner. We in India salute the brave pilot and pray for his safe return.

In this context, I would appeal to all our fellow countrymen not to fall prey to Pakistani propaganda on social media in these trying times. Let me make it clear that Pakistan is trying to beguile and mislead the world by speaking about peace while committing acts of military aggression across the Line Of Control. Its Air Force jets had targeted our military installations in Kashmir on Wednesday and were effectively repulsed by our valiant Air Force and Army.

Pakistan’s main aim is to foment acts of terrorism inside Kashmir and attack India stealthily from the back. In any conflict of such a nature, false and misleading propaganda through social media becomes an effective tool for the enemy. Whether it is the Pakistani PM or the Pakistani army spokesman speaking of peace, or whether it is a video of a prisoner “praising” Pakistan, these are all tools of war propaganda meant to befool the other side.

Our media should remain alert against such war propaganda, and the common man on the street should understand that all the videos that are circulated on social media are not true. They are part of the enemy’s strategy. I would once again appeal to all of you not to blindly accept such videos as gospels of truth, and refrain from circulating them among your friends and groups.

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Today I attentively watched a press conference by Asif Ghafoor, the Pakistani Army spokesman, and found that his tune had completely changed in the last 24 hours. For at least 20 times, he said, Pakistan does not want a war with India. Yesterday, this same gentleman had spoken of ‘teaching a lesson’ to India, after the spectacular IAF air strike. He had then threatened that Pakistan would give India a surprise, and retaliate.

Today this army spokesman claimed that Pakistan Air Force aircraft crossed the Line of Control in J&K and deliberately threw bombs on empty spaces. He then clarified on his own that the Pakistan Air Force wanted to show to India that it had the capability to strike, but “since we do not want a war, we only showed our might and came back”.

This spokesman had yesterday claimed that PAF jets had forced IAF aircraft to flee from Pakistani airspace and India should wait for our response. Today the same gentleman said the same thing which the Indian Foreign Secretary had said yesterday. The Pakistani army spokesman said, “our PAF jets did not target any military establishments, and we did not cause any civilian casualty. Our jets kept a safe distance from the targets.” He however added that “we could have attacked, but we did not, because we are a responsible nation.” Today this spokesman appealed to Pakistani reporters not to report about war, but about peace, because “we do not want war”.

Why did the Pakistani army’s tone and tenor about war and peace changed within 24 hours?

There could be two interpretations: One, Pakistan is scared, it does not want a war, it has now perceived that it may have to face humility if it loses a war. Two, this change in tone and tenor could be a cosmetic one and it could be an attempt to fool the Indian army. In other words, speak about peace, but fight a proxy war on the side.

I think the second interpretation could be true. In Hindi, we have a saying, “an elephant has two sets of teeth: a set of teeth for display, and the other set of teeth to chew on.” My bet is on this interpretation only.

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The entire nation salutes our brave warriors of Indian Air Force who carried out a daring air strike decimating camps of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed on Feb 26 pre-dawn deep inside Pakistan. The identities of these Air Force warriors have been kept secret for security reasons, but they have made every Indian proud.

To enter the airspace of a terrorist country, execute the air strike with pinpoint precision and then return safely without any casualty is not an easy task. These warriors risked their lives to exact revenge for the death of our CRPF martyrs and they richly deserve the honour.

Pakistan’s reaction was not surprising, to say the least. It clearly reflect the frustration of its leadership. One of their ministers said that it was pitch dark and their armed forces could not find out when the IAF planes came and left. Their army spokesman says that the Pakistani Air Force forced the IAF planes to flee without inflicting any casualty. But he had no answer when asked why PAF fighters could not target a single IAF plane despite their presence inside Pakistani airspace for more than 20 minutes. It was a similar charade like last time when Indian army commandos carried out surgical strikes and returned safely. The Pakistanis flatly denied that any surgical strike had taken place.

After the devastating air strike deep inside its territory, the Pakistani army has given two types of threats. The first threat is: ‘we will give India a surprise, at a time and place of our own choice’, and the second veiled threat is in the form of an announcement that the National Command Authority that authorizes nuclear attacks will meet on Wednesday. This is the same Pakistan army which had been threatening four days ago of swift retaliation if India tried to carry out a strike, but was caught unprepared on Tuesday early dawn.

History shows that the Pakistani army always lost wars that it waged in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999. Our armed forces are on high alert right now and if Pakistan dares to strike back, it will be paid back in the same coin. The entire world knows that our IAF targeted terror camps only. It did not inflict casualties on Pakistani civilians or the Pakistan army and it did not occupy an inch of their territory. The Tuesday air strike by the IAF received support from world powers, and if Pakistan resorts to any misadventure, it will incur the world’s wrath.

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In another bid to show to the world that it is taking action against terrorists after Pulwama killings, the Punjab government in Pakistan has taken over the headquarters of Maualana Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammed in Bahawalpur on Friday. Troops surrounded the madrasa and mosque where the HQ is located, and reportedly whisked away Masood Azhar to protective custody. This action is purely cosmetic, similar to earlier actions in putting Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed under house arrest and then quietly releasing him to indulge in politics.

Pakistan must clearly understand that it cannot escape punishment from India. Our Prime Minister has time and again said that Pakistan has committed a blunder and it will be taught a lesson. Whatever happened in Pulwama was an assault on India’s sovereignty and unity, and Pakistan cannot absolve itself of its guilt. Its Army Chief visited the Line of Control in Pak Occupied Kashmir on Friday to boost the morale of his troops against impending action from India.

As Prime Minister Modi said, the time for dialogue is over. Yet, there are many in India who are still advocating dialogue with Pakistan. Among them is former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who was my guest in Aap Ki Adalat show.

In her replies, Mehbooba Mufti gave this argument that India had to go for dialogue with Pakistan in the past even after the 1965, 1971 and 1999 Kargil conflicts. She said, if the US can have a dialogue with Afghan Taliban, why not India? The audience in the show belonged mostly to the young generation. They were not at all impressed with her arguments, coming after the dastardly killings of 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama. The young crowd was so much charged that whenever issues like Pulwama and martyrs arose, they shouted slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram.

There were several retired senior Army generals present among the audience. They told Mehbooba clearly that the time has come for our Army to teach Pakistan a lesson. One retired General went to the extent of saying that India should not worry at all and must strike back even if Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

The message was loud and clear: if we do not retaliate now, the morale of our enemies will get a boost. You can watch Aap Ki Adalat with Mehbooba Mufti on India TV on Saturday night at 10 pm, and on Sunday at 10 am and 10 pm.

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Pakistan government on Thursday re-imposed ban on Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed’s outfits, Jamaat ud Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation to show to the world community that it is taking action against terrorists. This is, to say the least, laughable. Pakistan took the action because it feared punitive action from the Financial Action Task Force, which is scheduled to meet on Friday. India described this action as “cosmetic and was not worth the paper it is written on.”

People of India still remember how Pakistan government tried to fool the world by keeping Hafiz Saeed under so-called house arrest and later quietly released him, to address rallies, form a political party and field candidates in last year’s elections. The dastardly killings in Pulwama were committed not by LeT, but by Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammed, propped up by the ISI. No action has been taken against Jaish so far by Pakistan.

Already, the United Nations Security Council has named Jaish in its resolution adopted on Thursday night while condemning the Pulwama killings. India, on its part, is ready with its action plan, and all eyes are fixed on when and where the action will be taken. Pakistan must be ready to face retaliatory action for the blunder it has committed.

India has virtually isolated Pakistan in the international arena, and it has conveyed its intention to take punitive action to the National Security Advisers of US, Britain, Russia and France. The action plan prepared by our army is ready, and we should have faith in the capability and valour of our armed forces, come what may. The heinous and brutal killings of our CRPF jawans must not go unpunished and Pakistan must be taught a lesson.

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The Committee of Administrators that runs the BCCI, India’s topmost cricket body, has prepared a letter to be sent to International Cricket Council seeking a ban on Pakistan from participating in the forthcoming ICC World Cup tournament, because of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India.

The entire nation is anguished and unhappy after the Pulwama killings, and the BCCI will be taking a right step. People in India now want action against Pakistan in whatsoever form it may be. Already India has imposed 200 per cent import duties on all Pakistani goods leading to a virtual standstill in shipment of goods from Pakistan. Bollywood producers and cine artistes’ associations have clamped a blanket ban on participation of Pakistani artistes. And now, BCCI has taken the right step.

India is scheduled to face Pakistan on June 16 in a World Cup tie, but the mood of the nation is completely against Indian cricketers playing with their Pakistani counterparts. Pictures of former Pakistani cricketers have been taken off from the picture galleries in the cricket body offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Nagpur.

The common man in India wants action against Pakistan for harbouring and training terrorists who are carrying out attacks in Kashmir. If Pakistan is allowed to play in the World Cup, India, as per rules, will have to play against the enemy country. If India refuses to play, it will have to cede points and pay a stiff penalty, The BCCI has, therefore, initiated a smart move by demanding exclusion of Pakistan from the World Cup. This is the need of the hour and the BCCI has responded rightly, taking popular sentiments in mind. The common Indian on the street simply does not want to see our cricketers playing with the Pakistanis.

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