Indian forces target Pak Army’s prize assets

As it did in February, 2019, in responding to the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force convoy at Pulwama, India has chosen to hit terrorist targets in response. But that is where the comparison ends. Not only were many more jihadi sites struck but the range of the attacks included the Lashkar e Toiba and Jaish e Mohammed nerve centres at Muridke and Bahawalpur closely linked to the 26/11 and 2001 Parliament terrorist attacks.

The range of the strikes conducted by the Indian armed forces stretches from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to Pakistan’s heartland of Punjab which is the breeding ground for Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul Mujahideen.

Muridke and Bahawalpur are particularly significant and are of immense symbolic value as the campuses of “markaz” are the ideological-religious font of the Jihad against India. Open in a report on April 27  wrote about the Muridke, Bahawalpur and other camps being likely targets.

The Islamic preachers who reside in these campuses provide the theological roots to the terror attacks and the centres are also recruitment and training centres closely associated with Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish supremo Maulana Masood Azhar.

The Indian statement after the hits in PoK and elsewhere drew a pointed distinction between  striking “terror” targets and not military installations. This will provide cold comfort to Pakistan. For one, the locations are close to populous areas and for another, Lashkar, Jaish and Hizbul are joined at the hip with the Pakistan Army. Hitting them is like targeting the prize assets of the Pakistan Army and Inter Services Intelligence.

A Pakistan Army manual that is often called the “Green Book”, the military’s strategic matrix is described as a triad of Army-Jihadi Groups-Nuclear weapons. Lashkar and Co are extensions of the Pakistani state, providing a honeycomb of deniable non-state actors controlled through a web of serving and former military officers. Saeed and Azhar are often honoured guests at iftars hosted by the Pakistan military.

Muridke is Saeed home turf, the original base of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa he has headed. Dressed up as a charitable organisation, JuD’s purpose has been to propagate Jihad against India and collect donations and gather resources for the purpose. It is also meant to churn out preachers who are then deputed to disseminate extremist beliefs that serve to instigate violence against India which is presented as a “lost” Islamic land in the hands of non-believers.

LeT-JuD-MDI are part of the same, interchangeable labels that barely mask the intent of organisations that have had the run of the road in Pakistan. The camps in Muzzaffarabad that were struck by Indian forces are linked to Lashkar training and Jaish staging facilities. They are directly linked to terrorist infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir. The Gulpur camp at Kotli is linked to terrorist activities in Poonch and Rajouri and is around 30 km from the LoC. The Barnala camp at Gimbar is 9 km from the LoC and is used for training in survival techniques, according to the Indian defence briefing held on Wednesday. loc jungle survical The Abbas camp at Kotli is  13 km from LOC and hosts Lashkar fidayeen.

The hit on the Sarjal and Mehmoona camps at Sialkot is just 6 km from the international border and indicates India’s determination not to be deterred by concerns of escalation. Attacks on Jammu and Kashmir police personnel and the Pathankot Indian Air Force base are associated with these camps.

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