A nation stunned into silence is still grappling with the deaths of CRPF jawans in the Valley who fell victims to one of the worst terror attacks. It brings Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the attack, back in the reckoning.

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The fact is Pakistan is a failed state run by a powerful military-jihadist complex that isn’t the least bit answerable to the civilian government. So, blaming Imran Khan, the puppet PM, would be a futile exercise. The jihadists do not care if this attack further alienates the country from the global community of nations, which already treats it like a pariah.

Barring China, Pakistan doesn’t have powerful allies, and Beijing’s friendship has turned it into a debt-ridden economy. It’s the end of the road for Pakistan, thanks to its military, ISI and state-sponsored terrorism. It remains to be seen how long China can protect Pakistan though Beijing has once again refused to block India’s appeal to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a “global terrorist” at the United Nations Security Council.

There is very little that India can do at this point apart from severing all ties with Pakistan and galvanising international opinion against its neighbour. India has withdrawn Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan and taking all possible steps to ensure Pakistan’s complete isolation from the global community. But, there are other angles to the attack that need to be explored.

The bombing attack in Pulwama reveals complete intelligence failure of the Army, the paramilitary forces and the local police. An explosives-laden Scorpio gets on to the highway and rams into a large vehicle full of soldiers and nobody had any inkling till the explosion took place.

The targeted vehicle was part of a big convoy comprising more than 78 vehicles, which was coming from Jammu and going towards Srinagar. The soldiers were returning from vacation, and the terrorist outfit was aware of the movement beforehand. It had indoctrinated a local man, Adil Ahmad Dar, who lived just a few kilometres from where he had carried out the attack, to avoid suspicion.

This means that the security apparatus was caught napping while the plan was being hatched. While the security personnel did a commendable job during the Amarnath Yatra, this time, it seemed to have lost touch with ground realities. And, last but not least, this attack couldn’t have happened without the support of the local terror network.

Kashmir has been on the boil for the last four years with deep polarisation characterising its polity. There is palpable anger against the Indian government despite New Delhi’s repeated overtures of peace. Terrorists have exploited this anger to the hilt. As per government data, there has been a 176 per cent rise in the number of terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir between 2014 and 2018.

In 2018, 457 security personnel were killed in terror attacks compared to 354 the previous year. JeM doesn’t want the Kashmiris to prosper and become part of the mainstream. This attack will further undermine the fragile peace process in the Valley.