Navy Chief Fears Terror Attack Through Sea

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of the ongoing tension between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday feared that terrorists might carry out terror attacks through the sea.

1. The Navy chief said terrorists have been quickly evolving and the Indian security establishment has been continuously working to combat the new threats.

2. “We also have reports of terrorists being trained to carry out attacks with varying modus operandi including through the medium of the sea,” Admiral Lanba said at an event here.

3. India faced a terror attack through the seas in 2008 when Pakistan trained terrorists attained Mumbai. The event referred to as the 26/11 Mumbai attack remains one of the deadliest strikes by terrorists on India.

4. In the meantime, Pakistan on Tuesday claimed to have “detected” and “thwarted” an attempt by an Indian Navy submarine to enter Pakistani waters.

5. The Pakistan Navy also released a video purportedly of the Indian submarine. The video, shot from the air, shows the mast of a submarine above water.

6. News report quoting sources said they are “verifying” the video for authenticity. Initial scrutiny of the video suggests that the video is from 2016, the sources said, and its release now is part of a “propaganda stunt” by Pakistan.

7. Commenting on the development, a strategic affairs expert said no submarine would ever draw attention in enemy water by emerging out of the sea as the Pakistani video has suggested.

8. On the other hand, Republic TV has broadcast an audio message, claiming that Pakistan army is shifting from the Tribal areas and Balochistan in the western frontiers bordering Afghanistan and is moving towards the control line (LoC) in face of the heightened threat perception in the eastern border with India.

9. The Pakistani military is using public transport such as trucks, buses and passenger buses forcefully to transport goods and all things that the army needs.

10. It said Army is in cahoots with Taliban and in all, a large number of Pakistani Army troops have moved out of Jani Khel, North Waziristan, and Bannu.