Unfortunately, by presuming guilt of the Army personnel in the Chattergam incident, for what is at worst an honest error, made in good faith, the ability of the military leadership to impose the fighting spirit necessary in their men to curb militancy stands seriously compromised.
Defence expert Maj Gen Dhruv C Katoch explains
The bullet-ridden vehicle skidded off the road and came to a halt, leaving two youths dead and two seriously injured. The fifth youth was uninjured and he ran for his life, escaping from the area.
The army men, finding the occupants to be innocent children and not terrorists as they suspected, swiftly moved the dead and injured to 92 Base Hospital in their own vehicle but by then the tragic incident had hit the national headlines, with the audio-visual media giving it top billing.
A tactical action gone wrong had assumed strategic significance, with political parties jumping on the bandwagon to milk every ounce of advantage from the tragedy in view of the forthcoming state assembly elections.
Familiar calls for the withdrawal of the army and repeal of AFSPA made the rounds once again with monotonous regularity and some news anchors vented out their angst on the Army, in a manner that would have gladdened the hearts of the terrorists and their ISI sponsors.
A week after the incident, it is necessary to view the matter more dispassionately.
The Valley is disturbed and Pakistan is not sparing any efforts to push in terrorists to create mayhem in Jammu & Kashmir.
Daily ceasefire violations by the Pakistan military have escalated to the extent that even innocent villagers are being targeted.
Reports have also surfaced of the Islamic State seeking to spread its wings in the state.
With elections around the corner, it is but natural that the Army and other security forces in the state would be in a heightened state of readiness to prevent any wanton act of terror, which could derail the election process and setback efforts of the state’s move towards normalcy, which has been on course for the last few years.
The actions of the troops of 53 RR must hence be examined in the circumstances that exist in the Valley.
Every child in the Valley is aware of the possibility that security forces could open fire at their vehicle if they do not stop at a checkpoint.
This is standard practise across the world where militancy is rife.
In Afghanistan or Iraq, the US forces would simply have used a rocket launcher to bring down the erring vehicle killing all the occupants on the spot.
In Pakistan, where the Pakistan Army is fighting the Tehrik-e-Taliban in North Waziristan, the entire population of a million plus has been displaced and the border town of Miramshah bombed to smithereens.
In the present case, while it is extremely unfortunate and regrettable that innocent youths were killed and injured, to presume that the Army acted beyond its charter is unwarranted.
It goes to the credit of the unit that, as soon as they realised that the occupants were not terrorists, did everything in their power to provide assistance and succour.
It is unfortunate that the police registered an FIR in Chadoora police station, making out a case of murder against the Army personnel.
Politicians, the press and civil rights activists are baying for the blood of the personnel involved.
What impact will this have on the Army?
Let us presume that a car with some militants is moving on the highway and disregards the Army check posts signal to stop.
The post commander in all likelihood will refuse to take any action and will simply shrug his shoulders.
Why bother, if a mistake can put me on the same pedestal as a common murderer, will be a normal chain of thought.
One can always justify not taking any action. It can be couched in humanitarian terms, with the men stating that they refused to act as it could have led to collateral damage.
When such a virus catches on, the spread of militancy follows suit.
It would be easy to fritter away the gains of the last decade and make the road smooth for the return of militants in the Valley.
Such a course of action has disastrous long-term consequences for peace and stability in the region and is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, by presuming guilt of the Army personnel in the unfortunate incident, for what is at worst an honest error, made in good faith, the ability of the military leadership to impose the fighting spirit necessary in their men to curb militancy stands seriously compromised.
It would be unrealistic to expect the junior leadership to take any risk in such circumstances and the senior leadership and the country at large would be naïve to expect it.
A point not being talked about is the role of the parents and civil society in the Valley.
Why were underage kids allowed to take a car for a joyride? As per press reports they were all under age and none would have a drivers licence. Was that the reason why the youth did not stop at the checkpoint?
The youth who ran away has said in a statement to the press that he saw the Army personnel flagging down the vehicle but the boy driving the vehicle was not looking that way.
Where exactly was he looking then?
Civil society too has a role to play in cooperating with the security forces.
The battle against terror and terrorism is not that of the Army alone, but of each citizen too.
Let us not put our soldiers, who are already under tremendous strain and who over the years have set an example of tremendous restraint while operating in hostile environments, in a situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
For the Army’s senior leadership, the lesson that emerges is in a world where the media is king, tactical actions can have strategic ramifications.
They need to think of measures to address such concerns, which could encompass training, provision of suitable equipment to the force and an effective perception management policy.
Warfare is mutating and we need to understand the nuances in all their aspects.
Let us also remember that the choices we have to make are not between good and evil.
It is in two courses of actions, both of which could go horribly wrong. A leader makes his decision.
Please support him on those odd times when he makes a wrong call.
The author is a defence analyst and a former director of Centre for Land Warfare Studies
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