Letters: A sense of foreboding

Now that the Pathankot anti-terror operation is over, it is time for those in charge of the country's security to introspect on it. Seven Indian soldiers were killed as terrorists attacked the Pathankot air force base on January 2.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statements on the planning and execution of the operation - which were supported by Lt Gen Kamal Jit Singh, the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Command - have been faulted by defence analysts, including former army and air force chiefs. Key features of anti-terror operations such as clarity of chain of command were conspicuously absent in the Pathankot operation. The army, best suited for conducting such operations, was made to play second fiddle to the National Security Guard (NSG), a "home ministry outfit".

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, essentially an intelligence department man, committed the mistake of assuming overall charge of the operation. The air force chief too failed in his duty by not insisting on handing over the operation to the army.

Curiously, Home Minister Rajnath Singh - to whom the NSG reports - after committing a gaffe on the first day of the operation, sulked during the remainder of it by absenting himself from key meetings, including the National Security Council meeting chaired by the prime minister on Monday. For the country's security these are ominous signs.

S K Choudhury Bengaluru

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