A National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheet has revealed that cross-border drones successfully dropped arms and ammunition in Kashmir’s Baramulla district without detection, highlighting a shift in the logistics of terror in the region. The chargesheet, filed in the Pahalgam terror attack case, tracked the pre-attack movements of the terrorists who struck the popular Baisaran meadows in April last year, resulting in the death of 26 people, mostly tourists. Operation Sindoor was launched by Indian armed forces in response to the attack, destroying terror infrastructure across the border. Security experts analysing the chargesheet point to a critical drop in human intelligence gathering between 2022 and 2024 as a primary reason the terror cell was able to move freely through the valley undetected.
The investigation highlights the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by handlers from across the border to deliver hardware and money directly to terror cells operating in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Gogal Dara forests in Baramulla district has become a hotspot for drone dropping due to its line of sight from across the border. While the chargesheet has meticulously charted the attackers’ movements, it has also sparked a debate among security analysts regarding structural blind spots. Experts argue that an over-reliance on technical intelligence at the expense of cultivating local, ground-level human intelligence (HUMINT) networks during the 2022-2024 period created an operational vacuum.
This deficit allowed the perpetrators to scout targets, receive aerial weapon drops, and execute the high-profile strike without triggering early warning systems. The NIA said that the terror group received a drone dropping at Gogal Dara forest containing 20 pistols, Rs 15 lakh, and triangle-shaped bombs (Chinese grenades) in early 2024. Experts believe that terror groups have been using higher ridges as safe havens and suggest that security forces should review their tactics and regain the trust of Gujjar and Bakerwal nomadic tribes, considered the ‘eyes and ears’ of the mountains.
Distancing from these tribes and growing mistrust between the security forces and the two communities has proved a disaster for maintaining security, especially in Pir Panjal ranges. The setback to gathering of human intelligence came during 2022-23 when many ‘sources’ were abandoned, causing a deficiency of stable communication infrastructure leading to delivery of efficient intelligence, thereby jeopardising a partnership essential to regional security. The NIA chargesheet gave a graphic description of the movement of terrorists involved in the Baisaran attack, suggesting that they were passing through mountains and urban areas without getting noticed, a point that security experts feel is due to a lack of human intelligence.
