Pahalgam attack no intelligence failure of India: Ex-NSA

Kolkata: Pahalgam attack in Kashmir is not our intelligence failure while India needs to maintain diplomatic channels with China and rectify the situation in Bangladesh, said MK Narayanan, former National Security Advisor (NSA) and ex-Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief, on Friday, in Kolkata.

Addressing a seminar ‘Global & Regional Geopolitics, Security & Economics’, organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce, Narayanan, who was also former West Bengal Governor, said at the sidelines that Pahalgam attack in Kashmir was not India’s intelligence failure. He added that extra precautions could have been taken to avert the attack. “I have been in intelligence work, I know this. I don’t classify this as an intelligence failure” he said.

The former NSA further highlighted that India’s conflict with Pakistan has just begun and not ended with Operation Sindoor. “India cannot lower its guard. However, any nuclear war between India and Pakistan can bring forth untold sufferings,” he said, adding: “Pakistan is at war with itself with the spectre of military rule continuing. The present Pakistan’s Prime Minister (Shebaz Sharif) is only warming the seat for his brother (Nawaz Sharif former Pakistan PM)”.

Referring to Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Muneer’s speech before the Pahalgam attack, Narayanan said that he (Muneer) is building a kind of influence which has always been a bane for Pakistan.

The former IB chief also said the exit of Sheikh Hasina (former PM) from Bangladesh is a major setback for India which must “rectify the situation”.

He highlighted that India and China need to maintain a peaceful relationship and cannot afford a war at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) areas. “China doesn’t want war with India. The North East situation needs to be dealt diplomatically with China,” he emphasised.

Narayanan opined that Sri Lanka is a matter of concern for India which it needs to address.

In the backdrop of the USA president Donald Trump recently claiming credit for brokering peace between India and Pakistan following the escalated tension, Narayanan said that the US today is a “divided nation and it’s no longer a bulwark of democracy”.

The former NSA warned that cyber space cannot be ignored because the advent of artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the nature of war and military. Technology will have a tectonic impact on the future of warfare, he remarked.