Nagrota Encounter: India Briefs The International Community On Monday evening (Nov 23, 2020), Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla briefed a select group of Heads of Missions (HOMs) on the planned terrorist attack in Nagrota district in Jammu last week. Highly placed sources said, “During the briefing, the envoys were told about the foiled attack on Nov 19, and how the incident could have an impact on not only security but also on the fight against terrorism and diplomacy. They were handed over a docket that had detailed information of the incident as it transpired. And it also had evidence on the ammunition of Pak origin.”
The envoys who were briefed today included the P5 countries and few others who were told about how the terrorists from Pakistan had entered India through a tunnel in the Samba sector. Sources said that in today’s batch of envoys China was not present.
Who was behind the incident?
“The markings on the recovered AK47 rifles and other items lead India to believe that the terrorists belonged to Pakistan based Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM),” said sources. JeM is a United Nations designated terror group. And the envoys also got details of the group’s previous involvement in such incidents.
What is the bigger picture?
The terrorists were planning a bigger terror attack in the country to coincide with the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike anniversary, since the Pulwama attack last February.
The envoys were told that the incident which took place last week is part of neighboring Pakistan’s ongoing terror campaign in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). And efforts to sabotage the District Development Council (DDC) elections in the Union Territory, which will be held in eight phases between Nov 28 – Dec 22. And, in 2020, despite the global pandemic of coronavirus, India has seen 200 incidents of terrorist violence. And almost 199 terrorists have been neutralized.
Why the briefing?
Also, this was the first round of several such briefings for the HOMs which will be conducted over the next few days, due to stringent COVID-19 protocols in place. All the Secretaries in the Ministry of External Affairs will be briefing the envoys in their areas of jurisdiction.
What happened on Nov 19, 2020
In the early hours of Thursday, there was an encounter between terrorists and security forces near Ban Toll Plaza in the Nagrota area of Jammu district.
According to sources, the encounter had lasted almost three hours and four terrorists were eliminated. Though an investigation is underway, the terrorists had recently infiltrated the Indian side through an old modus operandi.
