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| Islamic militants' growing ambitions | | Terrorists planning to target vital highways in J&K | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 10: Terrorists are planning to target crowded public places, civil and defence installations and places of worship, according to a set of intelligence inputs made available to the government of India. Possibility of terrorist strikes on the vital highways in Jammu and Kashmir is also not ruled out.
Security and intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have been cautioned by the government against the possible use of highly sophisticated ammunition by the terrorists to blow up bridges and render Jawahar Tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway unserviceable. This apart, the terrorists may also try to cause extensive damage to important highways such as Akhnoor-Poonch and Jammu-Pathankot roads.
Official intelligence agencies have cautioned the government of India against the growing possibility of more deadly strikes from the terrorists and jihadis in different parts of the country in the coming days and weeks.
Indian security specialists now make a pointed reference to a troubling new reality: the crystallization of militant and jihadi groups into regional networks inspired -- some say aided -- by Al Qaeda, in an attempt to export jihad across South Asia. “What we have seen in the past few years is the morphing of these groups from a very localized and aggressive focus on the Kashmir issue to a more internationalist ideology”, said Rollie Lal of the US think tank Rand Corp.
By mentioning regional conflicts like Kashmir in messages to supporters, Osama bin Laden “connects their causes into something that is much larger, and gives them a feeling that there is a greater significance to their struggle”, Rollie Lal said. Kashmir was split between India and Pakistan after the subcontinent’s bloody partition in following independence from India in 1947. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have since fought two wars over Kashmir.
The dozens of Islamic militant groups fighting in India’s part of Kashmir are widely believed to get at least some training and funds from Pakistan. But Islamabad insists that it only offers the rebels political, diplomatic and moral support. The dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is again being talked in Indian security and intelligence circles for its renewed activity not only in the troubled State of Jammu and Kashmir but also in some select areas in Delhi, UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Pakistan banned the LeT in 2001. But Indian officials and intelligence specialists insist that its leaders still live openly. Experts say its ambitions have grown, along with those of other militant groups. Lashkar is also thought to have Al Qaeda ties. Given the stagecraft they use--such as near simultaneous bombings--there has got to be a flow of information and knowledge and support.
Theories range from the militants trying to trigger fresh riots between India’s Hindus and Muslims, to groups working at the behest of Pakistani officials frustrated by the lack of progress in the India-Pakistan peace process. Many Indians, including Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, have suggested that the recent terrorist attacks aim to undermine India’s rise as a global power.
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