Tales from 2007- Hot Pursuit

Hot Pursuit

It was just past 1600 hrs when the signal they had been waiting for came over the Kenwood KX900ER handset that lay on the makeshift coffee table. Men of the Alpha Company of 9 Special Forces smiled grimly amidst wondering where half of their new gadetry had come from. It had been almost 12 years that the foot soldier had waited for this signal to come from the higher ranks.

The Indian population at large always wondered why the Indian Army did not engage the terrorists in hot pursuit into their base camps across the Indian Border. The demands for chasing them into their own dens became strident with the current gung-ho mood after the Pokhran II blasts and the success of Operation Vijay in Kargil. Till 1999, the Indian Defence Ministry and the Office of the Army Chief had ignored the calls as those being from a civilian population, not one conversed with the finer aspects of such an Operation. Recently, the vociferous public demand finally baited the Chief of Army Staff to publicly state that such an Operation was not feasible.

The hundred odd men assembled under the command of Major Bakshi, SM. The weapons check counted a mix of the Heckler and Koch MP5, the AK47, fragmentation grenades, the odd Dragonov rifle with night scopes, solar activated light weight missiles, and between them they had about 400 RDX Five Star bars. The equipment they were staring at were hand held Direction Indicating GPS's, helmet mounted night scopes and light-weight bullet-proof jackets, finger printing touch pads and cameras that did not require a flash.. They started their long march down from their 9,000ft. lookout to the valley floor about 2,500ft. below. The Line of Control (as the International Border known in this sector) was just over 2 km away. And home was under 8 hours away. For most of them atleast. But for all of them, they wanted to see the camera take pictures of them inside Pakistan!

The Indian Army and Para Military forces in the areas north of Jammu are in excess of about 5,00,000 men. The burden is not only on the economy of the state but also on the man in the field. Armies are not to be kept up for Counter-Insurgency Operations (CI Ops) for years together. All this strain on the armed forces is bound to cause concern for the Senior staff and then everyone starts looking out for a solution, no matter how harsh that maybe. The scenario of hot pursuit is one that is frought with danger, not only physical to the individual but also to the stability of the nation. The average Indian, who is fed up of this militancy in J&K looks at giving Pakistan and the militants a good kick and sees this as the only option. In the aftermath of the increasing violence perpetrated by the foreign mercenaries, the Indian Government will have to answer to the civilians as to the action it and the Ministry of Defence is taking to curb this terrorism menace.

Operation Khanjar had actually begun over 48 hours ago when units of 6 Rashtriya Rifles (6RR) and 19 Bn. BSF had laid siege to a village where a group of about 15 hard core foreign mercenaries/militants responsible for the latest series of bomb blasts in Srinagar were holed up. RAW and its operatives had confirmed that this group to belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen which was using the Base Camp that 9SF had targeted for over 4 months. It was to be a sweet wait.

Internationally, India has been a rising star, on the economic and diplomatic front. The recent visits by the US President and the Russian President Vladimir Putin to India, subsequently the visit by our PM to the US, and the expected visit by Madeline Albright, make India a very popular country overseas. Economically India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. Industrial nations have a vested interest in seeing that India does not go the South East Asia way economically. Given the size and the make of our economy, there is really no way that India could go that way, save one way. War.

The CO of 6RR was asked to provide a means for escape to the militants and he took this with a pinch of salt. He thought what a waste of an operation. He assumed that this was probably another Government initiative of releasing militants thinking that they would support the Government against other militant groups. Reluctantly, he agreed. It was about 0300 Hrs, that the militants found the gap and broke out of the village and headed for the border about 30 km away. By 1730 Hrs that evening, the No. 2 Platoon of Alpha Company had crossed the border under cover of darkness two hours ahead of the retreating militants. The remaining men started up about an hour behind the militants. By 1930 Hrs the 'Khanjar' was underway. At a Forward Landing Strip about 35 km East of the border a group of pilots and gunners readied a flight of 4 Mi 25s. At the other end a flight of 4 Mi 8s were loaded with a Speciality Extraction Team from Delta Company, 51Bn NSG. All the men on that airfield were wishing that they could be the ones to go in first and hoping that they would not be required to go in second.

What has brought the United States into the Indian fold is the fact that we could be a boon to their Industry, but at the same time, we are the only possible answer to the Chinese domination of South Asia. Possibly two decades from now the only strong economies would be China and India. Industrially advanced nations are realising after the failed sanctions after Pokhran II, that barely over 10% of Indian economy is export oriented. It simply meant that if they ever tried to really squeeze India, the 90% internally churning economy would ride out anything that they threw at us and probably would make for a more belligerent India. Besides protecting or pampering India on a Pakistan /India conflict, the world at large realises that India sits on a healthy Forex Reserve. As of October 2000, Indian Forex Reserves are about $34 Billion (roughly translated to about Rs. 1,56,400 Crores). In comparison the Gulf War had cost roughly US$ 10 Billion. The Reserves are a bait to goverments with large construction companies, defence contractors, investment bankers and the like, and no sane economist would like for it to be blown up in a fifteen day frenzy where Dassault and IAI got all the money and none went to Bechtel or Halliburton.

The Scouts of the leading Platoon reached the crest that looked over the collection of Nissan Huts that made the base camp at 2130 Hrs. There were about 50 odd huts and a few fires were lit. On the previous recce patrols to scout the area, Lance Naik Satnam Singh and Lance Naik Mahadeo Pant had noticed that the militant base had never organised security, the fact that they were in the State of Pakistan probably made them lax. This time however there was a lookout as they were expecting the retreating militants, but at the same time, preparations were being made for wine and food to celebrate the explosions that rocked the Government buildings in Srinagar 72 hours ago. They led the platoon along the crest till they had reached approximately the opposite side of the camp. By the time they took up positions to cut off any assistance (which was unlikely) the militant group had already entered the Base. Suddenly firing broke out bringing on a wave of panic on the leading Platoon. The panic subsided when they realised that the militants were celebrating their return after a successful run into India.

As you read this article, you wonder what is being done to conclusively end this militancy problem. A certain amount of cynicism has crept into the populace that no one wants this problem solved. The constant trouble and increasing fears of terrorism are going to galvanise the common man into action. Indians are going to start demanding to put an end to this conflict one way or another. The voices are going to get stronger and the Government is going to be forced to act. The reasons for saving the Hot Pursuit option till later is because the Kashmir situation may just out of hand or the Pakistani Chief Executive may take the chance in solidifying his control by raising the Indian bogey to the sky. And the Indian government may not want war to be the only solution to show their resolve.

The attack began with the Dragonovs taking out the militant look out who was left out of the fun high on the crest. Singh, Pant and their men led by Lt. Rajiv Mathur, ran alongside the rear approach road tossing out the RDX Five Star bars with timers set between 1 hour to 4 hours. They were the first to enter the Nissan Huts and begin the systematic elimination of whoever they found inside. The soldiers with the AKs were instructed to fire first so that the sounds would not attract instant attention. The celebrations in the open area between the Nissan Huts continued and a fresh round of firing into the sky erupted. By this time the remaining men of Alpha Company entered the fray. The militants not used to being ambushed, some reacted bravely and died almost instantly. Some sought to reach the safety of the nearby jungles and rushed between the Huts. They were caught by the men using the MP-5s at almost kissing range. Others rushed into the huts for protection and their arms. The very fibreglass huts that protected them during winters proved their undoing. Fragmentation grenades thrown in killed everyone inside, and for those who didn't die the RDX Bars would finish them off 15 minutes later. Lt. Mathur was taking pictures with a low-light camera connected to a satellite link relay transmitting to a low-level orbit satellite. His team was fingerprinting every dead person that they came across, using touch sensitive pads with a 72 dpi resolution, far in excess of the 20 dpi instruments Mercedes Benz uses so proudly on its Driver Recognition Devices. The digitised prints were also being linked to the satellite relay. Lt. Mathur wondered where this equipment came from and wondered who this data was going to, and had to snap back to the job at hand. Major Bakshi's voice came over their micro-earpieces, time check 30 minutes to withdrawal. Return fire had claimed two lives on the Indian side and their bodies were being removed almost immediately. Firing ceased within 8 minutes of it starting. A head count found 33 militants dead. The photography and fingerprinting took another 15 minutes while the team mined the Base with the missiles and all but a few RDX Bars. The solar activated missiles were left on tree tops to surprise any rescue or salvage team that would make it there in the morning.

It does not seem feasible to stop the Kashmir problem by our wishful thinking. The support for the militants has been active from the very people in Pakistan who are now its rulers. The people of Pakistan have to pride themselves that they are probably the only Democracy in the Islamic world and that they can set an example to other Muslim nations. The sorry state of their economy has been brought about by their own negligence in punishing their thieving politicians and bureaucrats.

Exactly 45 minutes had passed before the last of the 9SF troops left the Base and headed over the crest. Major Bakshi and his team had deployed the solar powered missiles to go off at first light That would be unnecessary as there would not be anyone left except probably a rescue team and that too was unlikely for a day or more. A young Pakistani Captain to 4 Sind listened to the gunfire and was extremely irritated at the militants because the Indians would now fire at them for days making getting food and going to the makeshift toilets impossible. 'Damn militants, damn ISI,' the young Pakistani Captain thought. Then the silence. He was just happy to hear nothing. His inexperience in gunfire sounds and his general irritation with the militants aided the Indians the most. Just then his radio set came to life and it was his Forward Post telling him something, so he strained his ears to the earpiece. "Helicopter? What helicopter?" was all he said when the RDX Bars took off, almost a 100 of them taking all the Nissan Huts with them. Captain Afsar Khan thought of his father in Army HQ and wondered how he got posted here to begin with, before his mind could try and evaluate the small rising fireballs to his south. His vitriolic towards the militants began with double the vigour. The proud, the silent men of 9SF who wear the 'Balidan' badge, ran the 12 Km to the Indian border. They caught up with the earlier 2 Sections that deployed the missiles and were designated to carry the wounded and the dead, just about 1 Km before the border. The men handed over the wounded and dead to other men and the run for the border continued as if it were a sprint to the 400m finish line.

The seriousness of the fact that their country survives on economic dole from the World Bank and the IMF is probably well hidden from the population. Only when they take matters to the streets to demand to set their own democracy in order and to lead themselves out of this morass, can the troubles in Kashmir come to some sort of a peaceful closure. India's economic strength and its diversity have made it a very stable country for foreign investment and then other countries have a vested interest in keeping India a safe investment. Increasing economic power in the decades will by default make us the regional superpower. Neighbouring countries will try and drag us down and one of the means is terrorism and sponsoring militancy. Indian response to the situation in Kashmir has to be strong, non-ambiguous, and final. Diplomatic overtures extolling the willingness to take on Pakistan on an economic (their Forex Reserves are about US$1.5 Billion, approximately INR 6,900 Crores) and military front not fearing their Chinese supplied missiles and nuclear weapons. A show of force is required from the Indian side and it should be firm and the impact lasting.

Major Mathur SM, led his men across the border where the dead and wounded were evacuated into Mi-8 helicopters to the nearby Brigade HQ for medical treatment. The standby Mi-8s lifted off and slunk in Eastward, the Mi-25s didn't come back to the Theatre of Operations, but there was only cursing on board all 8 helicopters, they could almost taste it and then it was gone. "Bastards, 9SF."

The plebiscite, the conversion of the LoC into the IB, the return of tourism, the apple trade, Kashmiri Brahmins to their havelis and peace to the Indo-Pak region on the whole, anything could happen. The dreams are there. Let peace happen.

0335 Hrs IST, The Crisis Room, Northern Command HQ, India. The American Military Attache opened the door and left with his communication equipment. The General Staff of the Northern Command had seen their men perform through the eyes of a KH-11 Spy Satellite.

0415 Hrs PST, The Residence of the Pakistani Chief Executive: The Staff Officer on duty was jarred by the strident ring of the phone. The General's ADC was told that the US President was online and would like to speak to the Chief Executive.

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We have changed names of individuals, Units and certain equipment that will be actually used in such a mission. ********************************************************