New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) With the protests in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) showing no signs of dying down, fresh Intelligence inputs suggest that Islamabad is planning a major misadventure along the Line of Control (LoC).
The ongoing protests in PoK are set to pose a major challenge to the Indian security agencies who are closely monitoring the situation.
There appears to be no solution in sight and the Pakistani administration has slightly changed its track where PoK is concerned.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the Army had ordered a brutal takedown of the protesters. While brute force continues to be in use, there are signs of the administration toning down on its approach.
The change in stance is largely to do with the fact that political parties such as the PML(N) and PPP are softening stance on the protesters.
At first they toed the line of the military, but currently both do not seem to be on the same page, the official said.
An official said that Pakistan, especially the military, needs a major distraction from what is going on in PoK.
Field Marshal Asim Munir who had ordered that there shall be no compromise, is finding himself in a desperate situation.
While Operation Sindoor exposed the Pakistan military, these constant protests in PoK and other regions such as Balochistan have made the administration look weak and desperate, the official said.
Another official said that Munir is facing the heat internally and his ability to shut down protests and violence is being questioned by both the political class and the people of Pakistan.
He needs to project himself as a strong military leader and this is why a major misadventure along the LoC is being planned.
The official explained that the misadventure could be in the form of a skirmish that would require the Indian armed forces to react.
There could also be a major infiltration push that would be made while the skirmish is on, the official added.
The situation currently is a very fragile one and the Indian agencies are in a state of very high alert. Officials warn that the situation is not just tense along the LoC, but the security forces are on guard to prevent any major attack in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
An attack in J&K has been on the ISI’s anvil for long. Many within PoK are making direct comparisons between the lives of the people in the region and of those living in J&K. This has only added to the embarrassment of the Pakistani establishment, the official added.
Carrying out a major attack in J&K on the scale of the Pulwama or Pahalgam strike would give Pakistan the much-needed diversion from what is going on in their country.
This explains the desperate need of the ISI to recruit youth in J&K and get them to undertake acts of terror.
In recent months, proxies such as the United Liberation Council (ULC) have been issuing threat notes targeting Kashmiri Pandits and migrant workers.
It has also been calling on the locals of J&K to take up arms and fight the administration.
Constant violence in J&K, such as terror attacks and stone pelting will not only keep the Valley on the boil, but would completely divert attention from the embarrassment that the Pakistani administration is facing, officials say.
Meanwhile, a massive strike has paralysed life across PoK. Local markets and other businesses remain shut after the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee called for a massive protest.
In Rawalakot thousands of people continue with a sit-in, defying the Pakistani security forces. Similar incidents are being reported from Bhimber, Mirput, Neelum Valley and Muzaffarabad.
There are no signs of these protests dying down anytime soon and with the administration desperate, a massive misadventure is being planned by the ISI to divert attention, an official said.
–IANS
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