Terror strikes, this time in Uri

The Sunday morning terror attack at an army camp in Uri, which inflicted high casualties among the soldiers, has come as a big challenge for New Delhi. No government

The Sunday morning terror attack at an army camp in Uri, which inflicted high casualties among the soldiers, has come as a big challenge for New Delhi. No government can ignore the death of 17 soldiers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has responded by saying that the perpetrators of the attack will not go unpunished. Union home minister Rajnath Singh, while pointing a direct finger at Pakistan, has called it a “terrorist state that needs to be isolated”. But what exactly can the government do? After losing 18 army jawans in an ambush in Manipur in June 2015, Mr Modi won accolades for sanctioning a cross-border raid into Myanmar to hunt down Naga insurgents. But doing the same against a nuclear neighbour like Pakistan is a different ballgame.

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This incident comes at a time when the security apparatus — the army included — has had its hands full. For over two months now, the forces have been trying to contain the stone-throwing youth in the Valley. A deadly attack in the midst of the turmoil that has engulfed Kashmir suggests that this is time for some serious strategic and tactical thought. India will not only have to calibrate its response vis-a-vis Pakistan; it will also have to factor in how it moves forward in regaining control of the Kashmiri street. Last week Mr Singh indicated that he wanted the military to rein in the protestors within a week. But that is easier said than done. Despite additional troops being moved into South Kashmir — the epicentre of the protests — the youth are not showing signs of exhaustion. Reports from the ground indicate that militants are freely mingling with the protestors.

The attack in Uri — just ahead of the UN General Assembly session, where Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to raise the Kashmir issue — is also being interpreted in other ways. Senior officials believe that this is Pakistan’s way of boosting the civil unrest, keeping the troops tied down and making New Delhi pay for its Balochistan belligerence. The Valley’s senior-most army officer has warned that the combination of terrorists and agitators is proving to be a challenge. The killing of the jawans compounds the problem and while the temptation will be to crack down, the government must distinguish between increasing the costs for Pakistan (though the government has not got a handle on its Pakistan policy, cancelling talks one day and the PM dropping in at Sharif’s home for tea on another) and offering relief to the Kashmiris, who were kept indoors even on Eid. The attack makes it imperative for New Delhi to be cautious and calibrate its response.