Some Indian Media Outlets Expose Modi’s Complicity in the Pulwama Attack

Tahir Mahmoud

Rajab 17, 1442 2021-03-01

News & Analysis

by Tahir Mahmoud (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 50, No. 1, Rajab, 1442)

The February 14, 2019 attack on an Indian military convoy near Pulwama in Indian occupied Kashmir could have led to a full-fledged war between two nuclear-armed states, India and Pakistan. An explosive-laden vehicle was rammed into the convoy killing 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The driver of the attack vehicle was a local Kashmiri youth, 19-year-old Aadil Ahmad Dar, from Pulwama. He had packed 750 lbs of explosives into his vehicle.

India immediately blamed Pakistan for carrying out the attack. Islamabad categorically rejected India’s allegation, urging Delhi to avoid such “sad and baseless knee-jerk reactions.” What the Modi regime failed to explain was how Dar got hold of such huge quantities of explosives? Were these smuggled across the heavily-fortified and closely-monitored Line of Control (LoC) where Indian and Pakistani forces stand eyeball to eyeball, as alleged by India?

This crucial question was answered by a retired senior Indian military commander, Lieutenant General D.S. Hooda in an interview with the New York Times (February 16, 2019). “It is not possible to bring such massive amounts of explosives by infiltrating the border,” the general said. He went on to say that “the material may have been taken from stashes of explosives” being used to widen the Jammu highway in the mountainous region where the attack occurred.

The Line of Control (LoC) separating the two parts of Kashmir is not only fenced but is also electrified. Indian military check points dot the entire 700-km LoC. The claim of infiltration from Pakistan is completely false. So, if the explosives were indeed stolen from the highway storage depot, how did Dar get hold of them? Surely, he must have had some help. Further, with India maintaining an army of occupation of nearly one million, and a vast network of spies including many locals that are coerced into working for the occupiers, was Indian intelligence totally oblivious of the plan to attack the convoy?

Following the Pulwama attack, Indian planes in the early hours of February 26 dropped bombs in Balakot inside Pakistan alleging they had struck a “militant training camp killing more than 300 militants.” This was a complete lie. Indian planes hurriedly dropped bombs in a remote area where no training camp has ever existed and then fled. Photos after the attack exposed India’s lie. Pakistan retaliated the following day but deliberately chose not to target civilians or military installations in Indian occupied Kashmir. It was meant to send a message that Pakistan can and will respond to any belligerence.

India was bent on escalating tensions since it served Modi’s political agenda, as we shall see. When an Indian MiG-21 intruded into Pakistani airspace on February 27, it was shot down and its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartham was captured. Pakistan, however, did not want to escalate the matter and released the captured pilot on March 1.

Two years after the Pulwama attack, details have emerged confirming that the Indian security establishment was aware of the attack weeks before it occurred but decided to take no action to prevent it. In fact, eight days before the February 14, 2019 attack, the Indian cabinet security committee met to discuss the threat. It was proposed that the 2547 CRPF personnel to be transported in a 78-vehicle convoy should be airlifted. This proposal was rejected. A day before the attack, more actionable intelligence poured in that also identified the possible location of the attack—Lethpora near Pulwama. Again, no action was taken. Instead, police personnel that would were aware of the threat were transferred from the area and sent elsewhere.

In a hard-hitting expose´ carried by the Indian magazine Frontline (February 14, 2021), there are some startling revelations. Compiled by Anando Bhakto, his report says: “A year-long investigation by Frontline reveals that between January 2 and February 13, 2019, a series of intelligence inputs were shared with various authorities responsible for maintaining internal security, all pointing to an impending fidayeen strike as part of the Jaish-e-Mohammad’s ‘Qisas mission’. At least two inputs carried details of the terror module led by Mudasir Ahmed Khan, which eventually carried out the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019.” (Read Frontline’s full report here)

Further, Aadil Ahmad Dar and his handler—Mudasir Ahmed Khan—were both known to Indian intelligence agencies in Kashmir and were under their surveillance. Mudasir was killed (or was he trapped and eliminated having served his purpose?) in Tral’s Pinglish area on March 11, 2019.

Other details have since emerged that confirm the diabolical plot in which Narendra Modi was actively involved. The Modi regime wanted the Pulwama attack to occur in order to use it as a pretext to attack Pakistan. This is a time-tested ploy to arouse jingoism and garner support in India. Anti-Pakistan jingoism has reached such feverish pitch that if a dog were to bark facing the Pakistan border, the Hindu fascists would immediately put garlands around its neck and declare it a “hero”.

With elections due in April-May 2019, appearing tough toward Pakistan was sure to boost Modi and his party’s electoral fortunes. This was confirmed when Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) increased its seats in parliament giving it a comfortable majority.

The other damning proof of Modi’s pre-planned false flag operation has come in the form of WhatsApp chats of Arnab Goswami, editor of the Republic TV network, with Partho Dasgupta, CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council. Loud mouthed and brash to the point of being obnoxious, Goswami said on the day of the Pulwama attack: “This Attack We Won Like Crazy.” How could India have won if 40 of its soldiers were killed, the biggest single day loss in occupied Kashmir, unless it was part of a bigger plan?

Further, in WhatsApp chats with Dasgupta on February 23, 2019, Goswami hinted at India’s airstrike on Balakot. This was three days before the Indian attack. He referred to its importance for Modi in the upcoming elections.

Below is the text of chats compiled by Mumbai police and have been reported on social media. The police have lodged a formal case against Goswami for revealing “sensitive security information.” These details were carried by Modern Diplomacy on January 27, 2021.

“Goswami texted; ‘something big will happen’.
“Dasgupta asked, ‘Dawood?’, referring to the notorious gangster, Dawood Ibrahim who is wanted in several cases.
“The conversation continued:
“Arnab Goswami: ‘No sir Pakistan. Something major will be done this time’.
“Partho Dasgupta: ‘Good’.
“Partho Dasgupta: ‘It’s good for big man [Modi] in this season.
“Partho Dasgupta: ‘He will sweep polls then’.
“Partho Dasgupta: ‘Strike? Or bigger’?”
“Arnab Goswami: ‘Bigger than a normal strike. And also, at the same time something major on Kashmir. In Pakistan, the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated.
Exact words used.”

Some Indian media outlets have raised questions about Goswami’s prior knowledge of the Balakot airstrike and the Indian government’s silence over the matter. It has come to light that Goswami had links with Modi’s office and was fed information from there. What the entire sordid episode reveals is that the Pulwama attack was indeed a false flag operation as Pakistan said at the time. And it was used to boost Modi’s electoral fortunes.

How low can they get?