AUTHORS’ NOTE

The Soviet Union ‘Red Army’ withdrew from Afghanistan,
the country it had occupied for ten years, by February 1989,
stumping the world. The historical retreat did not ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan, however. Instead, the country became embroiled in ceaseless hostilities between the communist government forces of President Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai
and mujahideen groups in their efforts to control Kabul. It virtually signalled the beginning of a long and enduring national security
nightmare for India.


Concluded on 14 April 1988, the Geneva Accords had been signed by the representatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, Pakistan and the Republic of Afghanistan. The agreements
were ostensibly meant to provide a framework for the withdrawal of the Red Army and a multilateral understanding among the signatories regarding the future of international engagement in the
war-torn country.

The Pakistani army and its intelligence agency,
the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), meanwhile were left stranded by the sudden departure of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan. The ISI had stockpiles of weapons, explosives and battle-hardened mujahideens of different countries. The training
infrastructure for the newly inducted mujahideens was also intact.
The ISI decided to divert this against India – for creating mayhem in Jammu and Kashmir and, later, in the soft belly of the country – from 1989 onwards.

In its campaign to bleed India with terror, the ISI began using
the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as its principal battering arm. The LeT was set up in 1987 by Hafiz Saeed and had the blessings of
the Pakistani establishment in its terror campaigns against India from the very beginning. The LeT has conducted a spate of terror
attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks that killed
166 people. Tackling the LeT’s game plan to seek to pulverize India with mindless suicide attacks and blasts from 1989 onwards has presented a stiff challenge to the Indian security and intelligence agencies. The task of thwarting terror is not an easy one. It’s a 24x7 mission.

To be continued.....