On 20th April, 2023, a terror attack took place in the Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir union territory of India, which took the lives of 5 Indian army personnel. Poonch is a district in Jammu, where the army personnel were travelling in a vehicle from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in Rajouri sector amid heavy rain and low visibility. The vehicle carrying the soldiers was first shot by the terrorist and then they threw grenades which put the vehicle on fire killing the army personnel. The terrorist cowardly ran to their base after the vehicle was set on fire. This Poonch terror attack responsibility was claimed by the JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad) affiliate PAFF (People’s Anti-Fascist Front), which was declared recently as a terror outfit by the Indian Government. According to Tracking Terrorism, PAFF is believed to be started in 2020 by Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba. The government has condemned such cowardly acts of the terrorist and said would take proper action against them.
Various sources claims 3 out of 5 of the terrorists involved in this incident are suspected to be of Pakistani origin. NIA have also started probe on this terror incident. This terror attack in Poonch district has casted shadow on Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto’s India visit. In his visit to India, he would be asked question on this topic. PAFF that has claimed responsibility of the attack is a terror outfit which started in 2020 by JeM or LeT. Nowadays, these terror outfits have changed strategy and have started using this type of names. PAFF symbol also represents their attack on Hindu society in India to cause civil unrest.
Deadliest Attack since Pulwama
Poonch Attack which took place in the Poonch District of Jammu and Kashmir. This attack is the deadliest strike on Jammu and Kashmir army vehicle since Pulwama, on 14th February, 2019, that took the lives of 40 army troops. According to army, the soldiers that died in Poonch attack were from Rashtriya Riffles unit which was deployed for counter terror operation, and another was gravely injured. The vehicle carrying the soldiers was fired upon by the terrorist around 3pm and was then put on fire by using grenades.
Special Forces Action Plan
After the terror attack in Poonch, the Special Forces has launched a Search and Destroy operation in Poonch District. Search and destroy, seek and destroy or simply S&D is a military strategy which consist of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, searching out the enemy and destroying them and withdrawing immediately afterward. In these operations helicopters have a critical roles, which are used to search for the hostile groups and surrounding them to make them come out of their base. Now, the army will operate this operation on a big scale to find and destroy the terrorists that killed the army soldiers in Poonch.
Impact on India-Pakistan Relation
Recent Poonch Attack in Poonch district has again affected India’s relationship with Pakistan. Pakistan Foreign Minister’s India visit is going to be difficult as he will be asked about these attacks by the media. Pakistan has been a safe haven for terrorist from a very long time. The government has also been ignoring various request made by the India as well as the world to take action against the terror group residing in Pakistan. Masood Azhar, a UN designated terrorist, is living in Pakistan from a very long time and is the brain of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) which is involved with Poonch terror attack as well as various other terrorist attack in India. In 2019, Azhar was reported to be dead but one Pakistani minister came and said to the media that Azhar is not dead but is missing, since then Masood Azhar is missing and yet to be found. Some says that Pakistan has kept him in secret to come out of the FATF Grey list, which Pakistan was a member from 2013. Now, Pakistan says that he is in the ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan which is a safe haven for terrorist.
FAQ:
Pakistan relation with terrorism?
Pakistan is the safe haven for terrorist is said by every country in the world due to its lack of action on the terror outfits active inside Pakistan. Recently, Pakistan has hid the terror outfit leaders to come out from FATF Grey list, which it was a part of for many years. These terror outfits that the Pakistan has kept secretly are responsible for many terror attacks not only in India but also in other countries.
Where did the Terror attack take place?
The terror attack took place in the Poonch district of Jammu. The soldiers were travelling from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in Rajouri sector during heavy rainfall and low visibility.