Coming Events Cast their Shadows Before

In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star at Golden Temple Amritsar, Poonch town with dominant Sikh population, witnessed huge rioting, mainly targeting government establishments causing large scale damage and unrest. The atmosphere got communally surcharged. The district administration had abandoned the town giving a free run to rioters. The then Govt of G.M.Shah had to go for overhaul of district administration. Ghulam Abass from JK Administrative Service was posted as Deputy Commissioner and I got to be sent as SSP. 

After the situation was stabilized and order brought back, there was another sinister plan unfolding with its source across the border. On June 7, 1985, close on the heels of first anniversary of Operation Bluestar, on the basis of a specific intelligence input, police intercepted a bus JKR 1401 at Dhundak, near surankote and recovered some ammunition and pak currency, brought in from across the border and arrested two local youth Shahabudin and Mohd Ismail. Their interrogation revealed a nexus of Pak ISI module based at Landi Kotal in NWF Province of Pakistan with AISSF and anti-national elements on our side. The kingpin closely in touch with ISI was a revenue Patwari, Aftab Hussain Shah, posted in Mendhar. His relation and cross border source of ISI Maqbool Hussain Shah, of Golad Mendhar and his associates would cross LAC with ease to remain in touch with ISI. They were nabbed after several raids in Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Kashmir and Moradabad UP where Nizam-ul-Hassan and Azizul Hassan operating a suitcase shop, as cover, were arrested. Activists of AISSF namely Mohinder Singh, Ranjit Singh, Mangal Singh and Paramjit Singh were arrested as part of the Operation. Huge recoveries of arms, ammunition and incriminating documents were made, establishing nexus of Pak ISI with anti-national elements. This included a Pen Pistol specifically meant for targetting VIP's from a close range. Illicit arms, after getting into our territory would be transported to Jammu, Kashmir and outside. Based on interrogation of 23 arrested persons in June 1985, 18 infiltration routes were identified in Mendhar and Mankote sectors which provided easy access to infiltrators.

A detailed report was shared with Police Headquarters on June 27, 1985. I was told that the gist of the ISI game plan and its implications were shared both with the State and Central Government. However, on ground not much of visible activity took place to counter ISI plans.

 It is worthwhile to ponder whether this was a precursor to a bigger gameplan of Pakistan to convert Kashmir into a proxy war zone in years to come. The intelligence agencies and political establishment didn’t go beyond fixated notion of the recoveries being just a part of arms smuggling done for profiteering. Had a more realistic assessment been made of Pakistan designs on Jammu & Kashmir, both at executive and political level, we may not have been caught napping, unprepared in facing the onslaught of armed and trained terrorists in 1989 and early 1990, when "Rawalpindi Express" buses plying between Uri and Srinagar brought in bus loads of armed insurgents into valley, unhindered and unchecked.