‘Bomb boat’ incident

January 5, 2015 

Our intelligence forces and the Coast Guard deserve wholesome praise for eliminating what could well have turned out to be another 26/11 (“Explosives-laden Pak. boat intercepted”, and “Coastal surveillance system proves itself,” both Jan.3). Pakistan must realise that pursuing a self-destructive path and adopting a relentless anti-India stance will do it no good. Its civil leadership should now work towards removing the military’s vice-like grip on the country. Coming just after the Peshawar massacre and subsequent strong anti-India statements from across the border, this incident is another reminder that India needs to be constantly on alert.

V.S. Ganeshan, Bengaluru

But for the swift action by Indian defence agencies, the headlines might have been very different. What looks like Pakistan’s latest misadventure by stealth shows its relativity theory on terrorism is skewed. Is it a sign that it is heading towards becoming a failed state? Is this why India is always its easy target? If Pakistan’s attitude is one of constant hostility, how can it expect us to hold out the olive branch?

R. Krishnamachary, Chennai

The dreadful and nightmarish scenes of mayhem perpetrated by Pakistan-based terrorists during the Mumbai siege is one that will continue to haunt India. We are fortunate that the Coast Guard prevented a repeat. The sad and dark reality is that Pakistan has only a one-point agenda — of unleashing terror on Indian soil.

B.V. Kumar, Nellore

How can one expect any form of improvement in India-Pakistan relations when we constantly face such deadly threats? That the leaders of both countries hold peace talks fairly regularly is what we often hear, but what exactly is being discussed? We seem to make progress only to find ourselves being wounded deeply immediately thereafter.

Arjun Prasanna S., Chennai

That some sections in the political Opposition are attacking the BJP government and calling the incident a figment of the imagination is distressing. Where did the boat materialise from? This kind of talk will no doubt be music to Pakistani ears as it is support from an unexpected quarter. This kind of unpatriotic behaviour is something that Pakistan is only waiting to exploit.

A. Srikantaiah, Bengaluru

While the interception and then destruction of “a Pakistani boat” may strengthen the cause of those who claim that Pakistan is waging a proxy war against India, coming to conclusions just after a Defence Ministry clarification does not make us look any better than our western neighbour (“Pak. boat had no name: Coast Guard,” Jan.4). The amount of psychological training that terrorists typically receive for an infiltration operation is of a significant level and the very notion of the men on board ending their lives despite the fact that the boat was on its way out of Indian waters does not seem comprehensible. There is a possibility that they were fishermen who were being used by terrorist groups to smuggle weapons into India. We need to wait till the debris is found and there is a thorough forensic analysis.

Arsh Punia, Chandigarh

The claim that the “loitering” boat was intercepted based on intelligence inputs and its crew were left with no option but to blow it up is not backed by corroborative evidence. The question why it took nearly an hour for the high-speed ICGS Rajratan to catch up with the tiny, low-speed boat (“A question of speed,” Jan.4) has not been convincingly answered. It is strange that a second “mysterious Pakistani boat” could not be traced. Is it possible that it was some U.S. agency that alerted the Indian agencies about some “illicit transaction” while sanitising the region to secure the U.S. President’s safety during his coming visit? The immediate question is not whether Pakistan has the intention or the capability to strike at India, but whether it really did embark on a terror mission. The BJP cannot accuse all those who question it as being “anti-national”.

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

The incident reminds one of the case in November 2008 when the Indian authorities claimed that the Indian Navy frigate, INS Tabar, had successfully sunk a Somali pirate “mother vessel”. A few days later, there was an embarrassing claim by the owner of the “pirate ship” that the vessel was actually a Thai fishing trawler and that 14 sailors were missing. While India insisted that the “pirate vessel had threatened to attack” Tabar, the Thai owner said the vessel in question, Ekawat Nava 5, was going from Oman to Yemen to deliver fishing equipment.

Arjun Chinoy, Mumbai

There are more questions than there are answers. The colour of the flames from the boat, as shown in media reports, is deep red, indicating that it was due to fire from petrol or diesel. Explosives emit white-coloured flames. The incident appears to have taken place in international waters. Perhaps the offenders were smugglers of petroleum products. One feels that excessive force might have been used by the Coast Guard vessel and its aircraft backup than was necessary in dealing with this kind of a situation.

Arun Malankar, Mumbai

Without intending to undermine or belittle our intelligence set-up as well as the Coast Guard’s role in intercepting the boat, allegedly laden with explosives, one wonders whether on the basis of the facts officially disclosed so far, conclusions drawn about the boat’s sinister designs are premature. Even for a layman, there are many troubling questions. How can a modern interceptor take an hour to intercept a relatively slow-moving fishing boat ? How could there be a counting of the men in the darkness and in a situation of bad weather and strong winds? Will the setting off of explosives result in pictures of an intact boat in flames? Given the scale of the intelligence warnings, there doesn’t seem to have been a major security alarm. The Coast Guard needs to give us more convincing answers.

S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru