Pahalgam attack executed with military-grade precision: Lt Gen (R) Dhillon

The Pahalgam terror attack was executed with military-grade precision, with the attackers knowing well that security forces would have little time to manoeuvre if they acted swiftly, said Lt Gen (retd) KJS ‘Tiny’ Dhillon, an expert on Kashmir and military strategy.

In an interview to The Tribune, Dhillon said the terrorists trekked to Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley and completed their attack within just 15-20 minutes.

A former commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps that had led the operation against the terrorists involved in the Pulwama terrorist attack in February 2019, Dhillon said the attack would have implications for attempts to usher in peace in Kashmir.

“The Pahalgam attack was not against tourists, it was against the livelihood of local Kashmiris,” he said.

“Today, the local population is a stakeholder in the peace (process). The locals now do not want to go back to those black days,” he added. Dhillon also termed the terror attack a “cowardly act”. “When you kill innocent unarmed civilians who cannot retaliate against you, and you segregate people on the basis of religion and you kill them in cold blood in front of their wives, brothers, daughters or sisters, I think nothing can be more heinous than this,” he added.

Dhillon said the killings will not be forgotten and the country would respond to it.

“This incident is going to go down into history as the biggest crime against humanity. The picture of a newly-wed girl sitting helpless next to her dead husband is going to haunt Pakistan in the decades to come,” he said.

He also reasoned, “There is no jihad in this. You are not attacking the security forces. You are not attacking the establishment. You are attacking innocent civilians.” Dhillon said India would respond to the dastardly act with a calculated approach.

“For the response, we have to pick the time and place of our own choosing. We have to keep Pakistan guessing over it,” he said. “Militaries and nations never act out of revenge. Nations and militaries act with full confidence in their abilities. They strike at the place and time of their choosing,” he said.

Punjab