The killing of two Muslim girls at Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday at the hands of Lashkar-e-Tayiba militants has shocked the world. The Lashkar, which normally claims that it does not target civilians, has acted in the most barbaric fashion this time.
The biggest support base for the Lashkar in Kashmir is from a section of the people. LeT is well aware that if that local support goes down even a bit for them, their battle in Kashmir is lost.
Sources in the Intelligence Bureau say that the recent killings show that the Lashkar is frustrated. Although investigations of if the girls were police informers are still on, the IB believes that this could be one of the primary reasons for the kill.
The IB says that the Lashkar is bound to get more frustrated in the days to come since there is a gradual change in the mindset of some people in the border areas of the state. The Lashkar enjoyed a great deal of support from these people.
Not only do they support the Lashkar militants with logistics but also provide them with shelter during their operations. This had made it extremely difficult for the security forces to carry out operations against them, since there is always this factor that the Lashkar hides behind civilians during anti-terror operations.
Recent intercepts suggest that the Lashkar would go aggressive on the civilians in the Valley as they find that there is resistance from the people.
The Indian government has been taking the claims by a section of the people very seriously and have realised that the only way to get that part of the population into their fold would be through talks and understanding their problems better. This has frustrated the Lashkar and the Pakistani establishment.
Imran Bilal, a Lashkar operative from Kashmir, said in his interrogation that the outfit thrived most on the sympathy of the local people.
"They provided us with logistics and shelter at all times and that made out battle against the Indian forces easier. Over there we were never viewed as terrorists, but as freedom fighters. Our biggest hideouts were in the houses of the people and it was hard for security forces to track us down," Bilal told his interrogators.
He also went on to say that there is a mindset among some people in Kashmir that the Indian government is not bothered about them in the border areas. This factor is being taken advantage of by the men from across the border and they use the civilians to further their goals.
Intelligence sources say that in the months to come there will be more changes in the mindset of the people and this will only make Pakistani spy agency Inter Services Intelligence and the Lashkar more aggressive.
They will look to target more civilians in order to spread fear amongst them in order to garner more support. The policy will be clear in the months to come: the Lashkar will target the informers of the Indian police and also all those civilians who go against their wishes and subscribe to the view of the Indian government.
