This September and October our state Punjab has witnessed a spike in terrorism-related activities. The explosion at Tarn Taran and arrest of four Khalistani militants with a huge cache of arms and ammunition in September were the primary ones that attracted my attention. The incidents indicate the persistent attempts by Khalistani militants and their base country – Pakistan – to recreate the blood-stained era of Punjab’s history. The recent months have also brought to light how drones originating from Pakistan have been used to make weapons’ drops on the Indian side. Moreover, the Pakistani Islamist terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had also threatened to bomb several railway stations in Punjab, including the Amritsar and Bhatinda stations.
The spike in such incidents, arrest and threats comes close behind the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). As J&K witnessed prolonged shutdown, Rawalpindi has made concerted attempts to revamp the dead insurgency in Punjab, in an attempt to open a new front as a part of its death by thousand cuts strategy against India
After the removal of J&K’s special status, there have also been reports that the work on the Pakistani side of the Kartarpur corridor was slowed down. The recent arrest of KZF terrorists has revealed that they were being operationalised to execute attacks not only in Punjab but in J&K as well. Recent news confirmed that a JeM militant had worked in tandem with KZF in transporting arms and ammunition from Pakistan into India.
The continuing attempts by Rawalpindi to drag the state of Punjab and the Sikh community back to the anarchic days of the 1980’s and early 1990’s show that they view the life and blood of Sikhs and Punjabis as something that can be spilled to further their own political agenda. The destruction of lives in Punjab is visible in the massive pumping of heroin across the border, with the active connivance of the ISI and Pakistan-based Khalistani militants, including KZF chief Happy Singh.
In view of the developments in J&K, Punjab is likely to be used as a route to push more weapons into Kashmir via Punjab. More recoveries and arrests thus seem probable in the coming days. In an attempt to polarise communities, militants are likely even to conduct attacks to a create communal rift and to disseminate propaganda to breed distrust. We as a community must build resilience and be on guard against vested elements who want to push us back into darkness and bloodshed.
The spike in such incidents, arrest and threats comes close behind the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). As J&K witnessed prolonged shutdown, Rawalpindi has made concerted attempts to revamp the dead insurgency in Punjab, in an attempt to open a new front as a part of its death by thousand cuts strategy against India
After the removal of J&K’s special status, there have also been reports that the work on the Pakistani side of the Kartarpur corridor was slowed down. The recent arrest of KZF terrorists has revealed that they were being operationalised to execute attacks not only in Punjab but in J&K as well. Recent news confirmed that a JeM militant had worked in tandem with KZF in transporting arms and ammunition from Pakistan into India.
The continuing attempts by Rawalpindi to drag the state of Punjab and the Sikh community back to the anarchic days of the 1980’s and early 1990’s show that they view the life and blood of Sikhs and Punjabis as something that can be spilled to further their own political agenda. The destruction of lives in Punjab is visible in the massive pumping of heroin across the border, with the active connivance of the ISI and Pakistan-based Khalistani militants, including KZF chief Happy Singh.
In view of the developments in J&K, Punjab is likely to be used as a route to push more weapons into Kashmir via Punjab. More recoveries and arrests thus seem probable in the coming days. In an attempt to polarise communities, militants are likely even to conduct attacks to a create communal rift and to disseminate propaganda to breed distrust. We as a community must build resilience and be on guard against vested elements who want to push us back into darkness and bloodshed.
