Sameer, who had been listening to his colleague, pitched in.

‘Thankfully, only two lives were lost in the bombings. But again, we just did not know what was happening.’

‘Kamil had suffered in the 1992 riots in Bombay?’

‘In fact, his terror activities had begun before December 1992. He was found testing his bombs in the sands of a river in Malegaon years before the mosque was destroyed. The ISI has been trapping our disaffected youth with their propaganda quite easily. Often, we just do not know.

‘And that is where,’ Sameer finished, ‘you and this mission, Operation Trojan Horse, come in.’

24. THE GAME BEGINS

24

THE GAME BEGINS

Somaiya is furious at Pakistan this morning too, thought Atharv.

After greeting the boys, he wasted little time in beginning his lecture. ‘There is no end to Pakistan’s treachery; we need to always be vigilant. In 1999, as per information shared by army intelligence, Pakistani troops drawn from its specialized mountain warfare unit, the Northern Light Infantry, captured heights on our side of the Line of Control in Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. Reports suggested that they had built reinforced concrete bunkers on those hills and accumulated weapons, ammunition and food and water for the troops. It required a limited war and the sacrifice of hundreds of young Indian soldiers and officers to eliminate the Pakistanis entrenched on those icy heights.’

‘So we failed to spot again?’ Atharv asked.

‘No, the army and intelligence had some information but no timely or adequate action could be taken till intrusions began appearing like an invasion. The Pakistanis occupied peaks during winter, when both the armies withdraw from snowcapped peaks only to return later.’

Sameer took over from his colleague. ‘Their defeat in the Kargil war did not deter Pakistan’s efforts to create mayhem in India. To this end, they started pushing into Kashmir all the trained foreign militants, including Pakistanis, who were twiddling their thumbs after the end of the Afghan jihad theatre.

‘We have to stop Pakistan’s attempt to begin another war against us in the name of azadi for Kashmir. Kashmir is the pride of India, our idea of inclusive nationhood. Kashmir is where Sufism and Shaivism have interacted and prospered together.

‘Remember, only fools would believe that Pakistan, the ISI and their terrorists are at war with us because they want to “liberate” the Muslim-dominated Kashmir, Hyderabad or Junagadh.

‘LeT’s founder Hafiz Saeed has warned several times that it will be at war with India until it captures the entire country. India ki barbadi tak, jang rahegi, jang rahegi, unki maut tak, jang rahegi, jang rahegi. That’s their motto. Hafiz Saeed has spoken of the inevitability of a Final Battle for the Land of Hind. He called it “Ghazwa-e-Hind”. They claim an army from Afghanistan, carrying black flags, will rise to conquer India.’

‘What’s going on right now as far as ISI’s war against us is concerned?’ Atharv asked.