'Normalcy in J&K is 100% Untrue', 'Pak Terrorists Smarter Than Us': Ajai Shukla & A.S. Dulat on Pahalgam

On the question of how Pakistani terrorists can periodically cross over and carry out attacks on the Indian soil when we have 1.5 lakh soldiers on the Line of Control, which is effectively fenced, and some three lakh security personnel within Jammu and Kashmir, Colonel Ajai Shukla, a well-known security analyst, has said that the claim of "normalcy" in the union territory made by both, the Modi government and the Lieutenant Governor in Srinagar, is “100 per cent false”.

Meanwhile, former head of R&AW, Amarjit Singh Dulat, has said that quite often, the infiltrating terrorists turn out to be “smarter than us”.

In two 20-minute interviews with Karan Thapar for The Wire, the gentlemen spoke about the worrying degree of local support that terrorists are able to avail of. While Colonel Shukla spoke about how they are fed, housed and often guided by local Kashmiris, Dulat spoke about the support they get in places like Surankot as well as parts of Poonch and Rajouri.

Colonel Shukla spoke at length about the fencing done along the Line of Control which he says, at best, can deter 70-80% of the terrorists. He pointed out that it was considered effective in 2005, when the fence was first erected, but today we need improved fencing.

Dulat also spoke about his concern that increasingly, the incidents of terror we are seeing in Jammu and Kashmir are becoming Hindu versus Muslim. He said that the traditionally reliable sources of information from the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities have dried up and placed the Indian authorities at a disadvantage. A lot of the information, he added, comes from Kashmiri policemen and locals and we need to trust them.

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