The Centre and state governments have shied away from highlighting the ISI's attempts to displace Hindus and create corridors of sympathetic demography to further their designs especially along the communication arteries from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.

The CDS has the option to focus on key areas of capability development to fight new generation wars or get bogged down in trying to bring cosmetic changes to humour the political leadership, asserts Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

Thinning out of the counter infiltration and counter terrorism grid is fraught with the danger of revival of terrorism in the Poonch-Rajouri area, cautions Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd), the counter-insurgency expert.

If the government is able to deliver the promised projects, the large number of youth will be taken off the streets and that is not acceptable to the Pakistan army nor the terrorists hiding in Pakistan, notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

Terrorism has to be fought at its root of origination. Today we are just removing cobwebs but not killing the spider, asserts counter-insurgency expert Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'Counter-insurgency operations cannot be conducted by following inflexible SOPs.' 'It is unwise to enter jungles with a large body of troops without precise intelligence,' asserts counter-insurgency expert Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

Pakistan's offer to normalise relations with India is an attempt to buy temporary peace due to its economic and politico-strategic compulsions, notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

India should observe October 22 as Kashmir Martyrs Day to pay tribute to those who lost their lives to Paakistan's State terrorism, suggests Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'Why has this turned out to be one of the greatest humanitarian crisis that has caught the Centre and the states in a bind with no answers to this unexpected tsunami?' asks Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'The challenge is to put in place a strategy for future courses of action beyond April 14 when the lockdown comes to an end,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'The bigger challenge and dilemma for Pakistan would be if the US and Saudi Arabia go full throttle against Iran and enforce regime change in Tehran.' 'That would be bad news for Pakistan, especially with the current instability in Balochistan,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'Pakistan will leave no stone unturned to keep Kashmir on the edge and put the entire blame on the Government of India if there is any untoward incident,' says Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

'The bottom line is that disproportionate losses should be avoided at all cost and terrorists should be denied tactical successes that act as opium for them to become bold to achieve perceived victory.' 'This is a long war and instead of rushing to achieve quick success, the objective should be not to give any success to the terrorists in terms of casualties and freedom of movement.' 'Every soldier martyred by terrorists in combat is a moral victory for them,' says Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).