Operation ‘Fox-Hunt’ (5 page)

As the presentation ended, Hussain thumped his hand on the table with approval, “Let’s go with him.”

Hasan agreed with the General; he had found his men, more importantly, they were among the men DG had told him to select from. He turned to Colonel Sharif, “I would like to meet both these gentlemen tomorrow. We will have a complete briefing session. A Colonel Khan from my office will reach here tonight along with Air Force Squadron Leader Gillani. Colonel Khan was with the 8th Commando Janbaz Battalion. He is my executive officer for this operation. They will join me in briefing the two men.”

Turning to General Hussain, he continued, “General, I would request you to be a part of the meeting. We would benefit from your experience. After all, you led the first wave across the border in 1965 during Operation Gibraltar.” Hussain smiled as he thought back to the 1965 war in which Pakistan had sent in SSG commandos to stir up a revolt in Indian Kashmir. He was among the lucky few with Captain Hazur Hasnain when he captured an Indian Army jeep and made it back via Fazilka. Hussain was only a lieutenant then. He nodded to Hasan, “I will be there; and now let us go to the mess and relax.”

Major Shezad Khan was resting in the officers’ mess. He had been flown in the previous night from Batala, a small hilly enclave in Pakistani Kashmir. It had been six weeks since a team of LET operatives trained by the SSW had been based out of the small camp. Shezad along with two SSW officers and a sergeant had trained the team in airport and high-value target operations.
He always felt at home in the mountains of Cherat. The SSG was his family away from home. His father had passed away a year back and his mother was now staying with his doctor brother in the US. Shezad had spoken to both of them that evening like he did every day since his mother had moved to the US. The phone call kept him sane and rooted to a reality which he loved. His mother always guided the topic of discussion to his marriage. Shezad avoided prolonging that part of the conversation. His brother had got married a couple of years back and now had a son. Shezad didn’t see himself as a husband or a father. There had been women, of course, but never someone he had wanted to spend his life with. Shezad had always been a loner; he loved all things military. His heroes were great military men like Rommel and Napoleon, and the former he absolutely admired. The Desert Fox’s picture had always adorned his study table since his thesis on the old warrior for his staff college course at Leavenworth. The paper had argued the relevance of Rommel’s military strategies for a military force in a desert scenario in the 21st century. He had been awarded the highest grade in class for that. But for all his academic activities and excellence, Shezad preferred to be at the sharp end of things. His attitude towards set-piece battles had changed during his time in the Kargil operation. He had been evacuated and decorated, but two days after his evacuation, his platoon had been massacred. They had died in an air attack by the Indian Mirage fighters. The impotency of a guerrilla force stuck in a set-piece battle where the enemy was able to use its superior weaponry while his men could not expect any help had set him on a path to develop and execute attacks which would require small teams to inflict heavy damage on enemy assets. The experience in Kargil had also made him realise that not all orders needed to be followed and he, as a leader, had a right to improvise. When ordered to take over the
control tower of the airport without disrupting the operations of the air traffic controllers or endangering the circling aircraft, Shezad had decided that he would do the job, and not let someone else decide how. So he had coolly gone and switched off the power to air conditioners and auxiliary equipment so that the ATC staff, who had barricaded themselves inside were forced to open the tower doors. The operation had got over in fraction of time and the air force personnel had taken over the controls and bought in the General’s aircraft. His CO had wisely decided not to pursue the issue. In late 2006, on a posting with the SS division of ISI, he had chalked out the Mumbai attacks as a part of the infamous ‘Karachi Project’. When the plan was dusted and reopened in late 2007, he had been invited back by the SS division as a consultant for the operation. Now he looked forward to taking part in one directly. He had been waiting for a chance with a group of specially trained team. The phone call from the ISI Colonel a day earlier meant that another operation was ready. He was looking forward to the briefing the next day.

Squadron Leader Hamza had just been flown in from Muridke the same evening. Sitting quietly in the mess guest room, Hamza nursed a glass of whisky and water. The Black Label was kept in the bottom of his kit bag. Haram or not, it felt good. He felt good. He was tired of training assignments. And when he saw that he was the only passenger on the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chopper from Muridke, he knew that he was in for some real action. An adrenalin junky, Hamza was a natural Special Forces type. He took pride in his supremely athletic body and had finished on top of his SSG class. And now as a Pakistan Air Force Special Forces man, he loved his life. For the last fifteen days he had been posted to a camp run by the LET and was a training officer there. He had already had a strike team of twenty people ready. He too looked forward to the briefing tomorrow.

Brigadier Hasan greeted both officers as they walked in. Colonel Khan was already there. He, along with Squadron Leader Gillani from PAF and Colonel Sharif were sitting on one side of the conference table. General Hussain was at the head of the table. Both officers saluted him and took their seats on the other side of the table. Hasan started the discussion by setting the context.

“You gentlemen are here because of the unique experience in asymmetrical operations you bring to the table. We also have details of the specific competencies each of your teams or the people you have trained possess. Besides this, both of you have also served together. I am sure your interoperability brings definite advantages to the project.” He gestured to Colonel Khan, “Colonel Khan will now take you through the details of the operation. He has devised the entire plan and is in charge of activating the sleeper agents and other resources in India and Bangladesh. He will be your commander for this operation.”

Colonel Khan began by sharing the background of the operation and the target. He then went into the details.

“Both your teams will be inserted into India independently of each other and from different locations. You must choose five men each; the best five in your team. They should be able to speak Urdu and at least read and speak basic English. Shezad, your team will use the call sign ‘Karnail’. Since your team is already in the vicinity of LOC, you will cross over into Kupwara sector with a team of Hizbul operatives being pushed in for guerrilla activities in Kashmir. The team is led by a very able commander, Wasim Khan. He and his twenty men are responsible for your safe passage across the LOC. As soon as you enter India, a Hurriyat operative will meet you and supply you with Indian currency and papers. Wasim Khan will make
arrangements to escort you to a safe house in Jammu. The safe house is controlled by an ISI agent who is a close confidant of a legislator in the J&K legislative assembly. He is a powerful man. He will ensure that you and your five men, along with a guide he will provide, are put on a plane to Mumbai. Once you land in Mumbai, a sleeper agent will come and receive you at the airport. He will take you to a safe house. This is where you will camp until a day before the attack. The sleeper agent, Mr Amin, as you will know him, will provide you with a new set of papers, documents, money, communication equipment and a vehicle. The day before the attack, a special agent will come down to the Mumbai safe house and drive you and your men to a safe house in Pune. For your safety, Mr Amin does not know about the existence of this ‘driver’. He believes that you are driving yourselves to some destination he doesn’t know of. Once you reach Pune, you will team up with Team Rashid and prepare for the attack.

“What weapons are we to use? How do those reach Pune? Also what happens if we are to abort the mission?” Major Shezad asked.

“Weapons are already being moved to the Pune safe house. It’s a farmhouse which has been rented out solely for this purpose. I will go into the details when we discuss the attack. In Mumbai you will get the details of your bolt hole and the required documents will be handed over to you. There is no turning back once you are in Pune,” answered Khan.

Brigadier Hasan interjected, “In case there is a fire fight while you make your way through Kashmir, you and your men are
not
to endanger yourselves and the mission. Let Wasim Khan’s boys handle the trouble. That is an order.”

“My men are trained for an attack on Avantipur airfield and we would need a refresher course for the new target,” Shezad added.

“Yes, Major, we understand that. Your men will be flown to Sargodha for a weekend of orientation. The Squadron Leader here will arrange for that in a few days. Would you like to add to that Gillani?” he addressed the Air Force officer.

“Major, we have set up a complete mock-up of the Pune airfield in the SSW training area on the Sargodha airbase. You and your men will spend a weekend there. Your men will get a chance to conduct a few practice sessions with Hamza’s men.” Gillani addressed Hamza, “Your men will leave for Sargodha once you are back. I will have someone at the base dispatch some trucks to pick your boys and equipment. They will undergo a two-week crash course. Your men will be the strike team which hits the military part of the airfield. Major Shezad’s men will create a diversion and draw the security guards at the civilian airport so that you can get through to the airside and then onto the military side of the airfield.”

Colonel Khan came back onto the podium again. “Squadorn Leader Hamza, your men will fly to Bangladesh. We will provide you with documents that identify your men as Qatar-based construction consultants. Once in Dhaka, your boys will drive out to an upcountry location owned by a friendly Jammat politician. A HUJI agent will pick you up at the airport. He will be holding a sign with the name provided on your Qatari passport. He will then install you in a safe house close to the Indian border. We will have someone senior from the agency help you out with some basics. He will come and see you at the safe house. You will cross the border and drive to Kolkata. Once in Kolkata, you will fly out the next morning or the same evening to Pune. Our agent and Major Shezad will be there at the airport to welcome you. While your men are driven to a safe house by an associate of our agent, you and Major Shezad will go along with the agent into the airport on the pretext of dropping him
off. He will have a valid ticket to get in and you can buy visitor passes. Spend an hour or so in the airport and get an idea of the movements. It will help you adjust your final plans. Once you are done, return to the safe house; your men will already be there. You will take charge of your weapons and use the shooting range in the basement to get used to the weapons. At 1800 hours you will leave for the airfield. Evening will just be setting in and you will use both darkness and the evening rush hour at the airport to your advantage for the attack. You get into the airfield separately, in two groups, with a ten-minute gap. Once both groups are inside, Major Shezad’s group will begin the attack and create a corridor for Hamza’s men to get through to the airside. You will fight a rearguard action and move towards the airside and hold off the counter-attacking guards on the airside. If possible, destroy or hijack a civilian aircraft on the tarmac. Squadron Leader Hamza’s men will separate into two groups and reach across the runway for the military airfield. Usually there are a couple of airside vehicles or tractors used for luggage transfer on the airside. You should aim to hijack one and rush across the runway towards the military side. The aim will be to hit as many SU30 MKI fighters on the ground and any other military aircrafts possible. Your men will practice the entire sequence in detail at the training facility at Sargodha.

“Any questions?” Colonel Khan concluded his monologue.

“Well, Colonel, how are we going to get the weapons inside the airport complex?” Hamza ventured. “You and your men will be dressed as a university hockey team. Each player will carry his kit bag. We have had the kit bags modified to take in specially adapted AKSUs. You will use similar equipment and weapons for your training at Sargodha. Now the Squadron Leader will share some details with you.”

Gillani switched on the projector. The screen lit up with a photograph of the Pune airfield.

Gillani explained, “The airfield is about seven kilometres from the city centre. The airport has an airside which is hardly 100 yards from the security check point. The airport on the civilian side is guarded by 10 to 15 armed men of the CISF.” The screen started playing a video of the airfield. It showed ticket printouts and passengers’ identity cards being checked at the main entrance.

“There is a common entrance to both the domestic and international departure areas. The building has two floors with an elevator taking passengers to the second floor after the security check. Both floors have separate entries to the air side, with an aero bridge for the first floor.”

Colonel Khan got up, “Note that no luggage is checked at this point. You will have perfect tickets matching your IDs. There is a visitors’ waiting area coming up next,” He said pointing towards the screen. The video showed a row of seats and panned into a steel barricade with a single opening, with an armed guard stationed there, beyond the guard were the x-ray machines.

“Note that your luggage is not checked even as you enter passengers-only area, only the ID.” He paused as the video rolled, “The toilets are beyond this point on the left near the x-ray machines.”

“The guards look bored, not too active,” Shezad commented. The video now played pictures of the ticket counters, of people getting their boarding passes and of the x-ray machines. There were guards patrolling, and there were men at the check-in security. The camera now pointed at the men’s toilet. Gillani paused the video screen.