With Jammu Terror Attacks, Pakistan Trying To Shake People’s Trust In BJP Govt: Intel Sources | Exclusive

The four recent attacks show that Pakistan has opened new fronts and decided to attack from the Jammu side to create an atmosphere of distrust against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, according to top intelligence sources.

“After complete barricading of Kashmir, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has no other option but to use the heights of Jammu. Their idea is to kill civilians and create unrest and distrust in the BJP government,” said sources.

Explaining their strategy, sources added, “Jammu is a Hindu-dominated area and killing Hindus will give a strong message to the Muslim world and garner possible support for them. The ISI is also motivated with the previous killings by the Sajid Jat group.”

Agencies say the Reasi incident, in which terrorists opened fire at a bus of pilgrims heading to Vaishno Devi temple in Katra on June 9, was a big target. “All 41 passengers would have been targeted had the bus driver not lost control, plunging the vehicle into a gorge. This was a second civilian Pulwama-type attack that, too, on the day the government took oath,” they said.

Those involved in the June 11 Hiranagar attack looked like fresh infiltrators who had lost their way and were asking local shopkeepers for directions. They were carrying medicines and other accessories, which are usually carried by Lashkar and Jaish operatives, sources said. One terrorist was killed by security forces, while another was trapped in an encounter, after terrorists forcibly tried to enter houses and opened fire on people in Saida Sukhal village near Koota Morh in Hiranagar sector of Kathua district. The second terrorist was eventually gunned down.

Given the scale on which the ISI is planning to target this new area, agencies feel that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) could be tasked with the job. “The ISI is hopeful after the reduced number of seats for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Also, the victory for jailed Engineer Rashid in the Lok Sabha elections has given them a boost. They feel this kind of mandate is clearly suggesting that people are still with separatist elements and are not coming out only out of fear. So they don’t want to take any chance in the Assembly and Panchayat elections and want maximum casualties,” sources said.

Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Ittehad Party, ran as an independent candidate and won from Baramulla against Omar Abdullah, a heavyweight. Rashid, a 56-year-old former MLA from the Langate assembly segment in Kupwara district, was arrested in 2019 and charged by the NIA under UAPA. He has been lodged in the Tihar jail since August 9, 2019, on charges of alleged terror financing.

In addition to Raesi and Hiranagar, firing was reported from the Kota top area of Bhalesa on June 12, to which security forces retaliated. Earlier on June 11 evening, five Rashtriya Rifles personnel and a Special Police Officer were injured in a terrorist attack in Chattargalla Pass.