New Delhi: All national political parties are restrained while condemning the terror attack in Pulwama killing 44 CRPF personnel, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik spilled the beans on Thursday and again on Saturday on the security failures and not sensitising the route before movement of such a large convoy. Even while joining all in accusing Pakistan for the attack, he has been repeatedly asserting that the ghastly incident was also partly due to the intelligence failure, particularly since it happened in the populated area. He has already ordered an inquiry to find out why the security forces and the local police could not detect the loading and movement of the explosive-laden Scorpio.
His remark that the attack happened because of a huge intelligence failure and the mainstream politicians “abetting terror” invited the wrath of the regional parties to assert that he was himself responsible for failing to prevent the attack and he should know the state is under his rule and not under any political dispensation. Malik (72), a Jat leader from western UP and a former colleague of late Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh who later drifted to the BJP, is quite blunt and honest to ensure he is not blamed for any wrong that happens and hence he got further provoked by the attacks mounted on him by former CM Omar Abdullah, the National Conference (NC) leader, and Mehbooba Mufti, the president of People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Both reminded him that their parties have never endorsed terrorism and hence he should not have attacked their parties for no rhyme or reason. Questions are also being asked why there was no retaliation by the CRPF jawans in other buses in the convoy when the suicide bomber’s accomplices were firing on the convoy and why the area was not cordoned off to prevent these culprits from escaping.
Notwithstanding the Governor’s lament on the intelligence failure, a local daily in Srinagar said the J&K Police had shared an intelligence input with all security agencies just two days before the attack about an online video showing preparations for such an attack. Even senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi could not resist himself from tweeting: “Governor of J&K suggestion that there has been some laparwahi on behalf of the intelligence is a public statement now. Question is, in the Governor’s Rule, who is to be blamed? (sic).”
Governor Malik is, however, trying to shrug off the attack on him as he told a TV channel: “This is our carelessness that no checking was done on the highway where the incident happened. There was someone with a car full of explosives and we did not have a clue.” He went on to claim that Pakistan was under pressure to do something big in the wake of a string of successful counter-insurgency operations by the Indian security forces in the Valley resulting in the killing of a very large number of the terrorists. No doubt Pakistan engineered it as the biggest attack in the history of the decades-long conflict in Kashmir, he said.
“Counter-insurgency operations are being conducted successfully. These terrorists were hiding in jungles. Pakistan is likely to have put pressure on them to do something big. Do something big otherwise we will have no face to show. This is the work done under Pakistani pressure, with Pakistani support,” Malik said.
The Governor of J&K has failed in his primary responsibility. He compounds things by preferring to appear on every single news channel he can find rather than rush to the valley to meet the injured and yet somehow Mehbooba & I are to blame for everything (sic). —Omar Abdullah, NC vice-president
Stunned at his refusal to acknowledge grave security lapse despite intelligence inputs. Why were 2,000 CRPF men allowed to travel in a convoy? Is air travel only for political elites? Defies common sense. Easy to blame us. J&K under guv rule so he can’t abdicate responsibility. —Mehbooba Mufti, PDP leader
