09-21-2008, 03:31 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Two down, more to go </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Wage a relentless war on terror
The Delhi Police appears to have at last woken up to the threat posed by homegrown jihadis who are responsible for last Saturday's bombing in the national capital which extracted a terrible toll and scarred many more for the rest of their lives. <b>As much is evident from Friday's encounter at Jamia Nagar, for all purposes a Muslim ghetto long suspected to shelter malcontents and assorted criminals, in which two terrorists of the shadowy group that calls itself the 'Indian Mujahideen' and has claimed responsibility for the recent spate of bombings, were killed. A third member has been arrested along with other suspects.</b> Tragically, Delhi Police has lost a highly-decorated officer with an excellent track record of combating criminals in the encounter. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma died of bullet injuries sustained during the fierce gun battle, but his death, hopefully, shall not be in vain. Now that the initial breakthrough has been made and the jihadi fort has been breached, the battle must be taken to its logical conclusion. In the war against terror, there can be neither compromise nor retreat; there is no question of compassion for those waging war against the state. Indeed, had the police been equally alert and tough all along, perhaps <b>last Saturday's grisly massacre could have been avoided. It can be argued that the police required actionable intelligence -- which our intelligence agencies are clearly incapable of providing -- to conduct a pre-emptive strike</b>. But if there is cooperation between the police of various States and real time information is exchanged as well as acted upon, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>there is no reason why the handicap posed by intelligence agencies busy pandering to the political bosses of the day cannot be overcome. </span>For evidence, we have Friday's successful counter-strike: <b>Obviously, information provided by the Gujarat Police, which has been able to unravel the Indian Mujahideen's terror plot to a large extent without any assistance from Central agencies, and interrogation of jihadis arrested for their role in the Ahmedabad bombings have been a useful input for the Delhi Police.</b>
But this by itself cannot sustain a long-drawn war on homegrown jihadis. What is also needed is political determination to destroy this evil root and branch. That determination is in extreme short supply as far as the UPA Government is concerned, <b>best exemplified by the Prime Minister's treacly concern for terrorists and their families and the Home Minister's contemptible waffle</b>. Had it not been for the outrage over the bombings and the blowback to the <b>Government's astonishing policy of appeasement, the Delhi Police would not have been allowed to act in such determined manner</b>. It is often ignored that the police in the national capital reports to the Union Home Ministry and not the State Government; its actions are often determined by the politics of the ruling party at the Centre. To that extent, the inaction and worse which preceded last Saturday's terrorist attack must be blamed on the Home Minister. At the same time, there is no reason to believe that the man who has made a mockery of his official reponsibilities has turned a new leaf. <b>For all we know, the Delhi Police were allowed to act against the terrorists holed up in Jamia Nagar to ease the pressure building on the Government.</b> Having achieved this limited -- and short-sighted -- objective, the Home Minister may once again put the Delhi Police on a tight leash and get back to doing what he does best: Change into fresh costumes every few hours. If that were to happen, it would be a pity and a shame. For the moment, we can only wait and watch
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Wage a relentless war on terror
The Delhi Police appears to have at last woken up to the threat posed by homegrown jihadis who are responsible for last Saturday's bombing in the national capital which extracted a terrible toll and scarred many more for the rest of their lives. <b>As much is evident from Friday's encounter at Jamia Nagar, for all purposes a Muslim ghetto long suspected to shelter malcontents and assorted criminals, in which two terrorists of the shadowy group that calls itself the 'Indian Mujahideen' and has claimed responsibility for the recent spate of bombings, were killed. A third member has been arrested along with other suspects.</b> Tragically, Delhi Police has lost a highly-decorated officer with an excellent track record of combating criminals in the encounter. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma died of bullet injuries sustained during the fierce gun battle, but his death, hopefully, shall not be in vain. Now that the initial breakthrough has been made and the jihadi fort has been breached, the battle must be taken to its logical conclusion. In the war against terror, there can be neither compromise nor retreat; there is no question of compassion for those waging war against the state. Indeed, had the police been equally alert and tough all along, perhaps <b>last Saturday's grisly massacre could have been avoided. It can be argued that the police required actionable intelligence -- which our intelligence agencies are clearly incapable of providing -- to conduct a pre-emptive strike</b>. But if there is cooperation between the police of various States and real time information is exchanged as well as acted upon, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>there is no reason why the handicap posed by intelligence agencies busy pandering to the political bosses of the day cannot be overcome. </span>For evidence, we have Friday's successful counter-strike: <b>Obviously, information provided by the Gujarat Police, which has been able to unravel the Indian Mujahideen's terror plot to a large extent without any assistance from Central agencies, and interrogation of jihadis arrested for their role in the Ahmedabad bombings have been a useful input for the Delhi Police.</b>
But this by itself cannot sustain a long-drawn war on homegrown jihadis. What is also needed is political determination to destroy this evil root and branch. That determination is in extreme short supply as far as the UPA Government is concerned, <b>best exemplified by the Prime Minister's treacly concern for terrorists and their families and the Home Minister's contemptible waffle</b>. Had it not been for the outrage over the bombings and the blowback to the <b>Government's astonishing policy of appeasement, the Delhi Police would not have been allowed to act in such determined manner</b>. It is often ignored that the police in the national capital reports to the Union Home Ministry and not the State Government; its actions are often determined by the politics of the ruling party at the Centre. To that extent, the inaction and worse which preceded last Saturday's terrorist attack must be blamed on the Home Minister. At the same time, there is no reason to believe that the man who has made a mockery of his official reponsibilities has turned a new leaf. <b>For all we know, the Delhi Police were allowed to act against the terrorists holed up in Jamia Nagar to ease the pressure building on the Government.</b> Having achieved this limited -- and short-sighted -- objective, the Home Minister may once again put the Delhi Police on a tight leash and get back to doing what he does best: Change into fresh costumes every few hours. If that were to happen, it would be a pity and a shame. For the moment, we can only wait and watch
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