Daily Times

Within a span of one week, terrorists have struck twice at Pakistan’s forces in Balochistan. The first attack on the check post at Kech was a glaring intelligence failure as the movement of about 50 terrorists who swooped on the check post remained undetected. Prior to the attack they must have carried out deep reconnaissance of the area which could not come to notice of the intelligence agencies. It is reported that most of the terrorists had sneaked into Pakistan from Iran. The snipers who operated from within Pakistan perched themselves on high points at a distance.

A video recorded by the BLA/BLF terrorists who attacked the check post and uploaded on social media shows that most of the soldiers who embraced martyrdom were knocked down with sniper fires from a distance. It’s a new modus operandi adopted by the BLA terrorists. The induction of such new sophisticated weapons and training to the terrorists should have not gone unnoticed by the intelligence apparatus. Axiomatically, when a sudden gun and mortar terrorist attack backed by sniper shooting gets underway it becomes impossible to tackle it. Undoubtedly such negligence costs dearly. A number of soldiers including a major and captain laid down their lives. The assailants burnt down the check post.

Experts are of the opinion that under persistent threat, the post should have been beefed up, to at least a platoon strength (37 individuals). If a check post is at a far-off distance from other posts, it is always heavily occupied and armed. It’s a simple mathematical formula; the area, terrain, population profile, inter-distance of posts, operational environment, concurrent threats and tasks assigned dictate the strength required to man a post.

A similar intelligence failure was observed in the terrorist attack on FC HQ and post at Panjgur and Noshki. The terrorists managed to carry out a blast at the gate of the FC HQ Noshki and prior to that strategically placed the sniper shooters at high places. They caused considerable loss of valuable lives. This further shows lack of imagination on part of the counter terrorism outfit and indicates a disconnect between the intelligence and security agencies.

Intelligence is the main weapon against terrorists. Intelligence organisations ought to penetrate in the terrorist outfits and have foreknowledge of their plans, strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, the local facilitators and safe heavens near the border area should have been identified and neutralised.

Intelligence reports indicate that TTP and BLA have joined hands. During Panjgur and Noshki attack the handlers of the terrorists were guiding and messaging from Afghanistan. The recent bomb blast outside Anarkali Lahore, which was claimed by BLA, was done in TTP style. Does it mean both operate for each other too?

Police and CTD should keep a close eye on the organised crime syndicates which are party to it. The terrorists used American weapons like M-5 mounted with infra-red telescopes which can be provided by these syndicates.

It must be kept in mind that Balochistan is ablaze for quite sometime. Media blackout has kept the public unaware of these rueful developments there. The security agencies have no excuse to remain inactive and unprepared. Especially this situation was brewing for the last three months. There was an utter lack of link and pattern analysis with no initiative. Noshki’s surrounding areas including Chaghi area has had lot of presence of terrorists earlier as well. Timely IBOs could have deterred the terrorists to regroup there. There is a need for complete overhaul of intelligence setups as well as mil/FC commands in Balochistan.

The Afghan factor is vital. There have been credible reports regarding presence and training of terrorists in Afghanistan including receipt of fresh aid from Indian intelligence agency RAW too. So far, our policy towards Afghan Taliban has been ambivalent and illogical. TTP and Daesh, operating from Afghan soil, pose grave threat toPakistan.

The writer is a security analyst.