A Chinese "interests" angle has emerged in the terror attack carried out on Sunday evening by the Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba, at a labor camp for a tunnel construction site in Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals, including a doctor.
Security personnel stand guard during a search operation on Srinagar-Ladakh highway on Monday. (Photo: PTI)
According to a report from The Times of India, another terrorist organization—the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), linked to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)—has asserted that the attack on the labor camp in Ganderbal was intended to disrupt Indian military deployments along the eastern border. They described the attack as "against our military interests and those of our Chinese friends."
PAFF labeled the tunnel as a military project, stating that such "projects in occupied territory are death traps" and advised people to steer clear of them.
Additionally, PAFF commended TRF for what it called a "strategic attack" on workers involved in the construction of the 6.5 Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh highway.
This tunnel is being built by APCO Infratech, a company based in Uttar Pradesh, to ensure all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and Ladakh, and is set to be inaugurated in early November.
PAFF’s statement
“Military projects in an occupied territory are death traps. Hence, every sane-minded person should avoid them,” PAFF said in a statement, reported ToI.
"Chinese friends" represents PAFF's rhetorical strategy
The report cited officials stating that while the strategic cooperation between China and Pakistan is acknowledged, there is no evidence to indicate Beijing's involvement beyond the remarks made by the PAFF.
The officials further explained that the mention of "Chinese friends" appears to be a rhetorical strategy by the PAFF to align their objectives with those of Beijing.
They also noted that infrastructures in sensitive areas serve dual purposes and should not be classified solely as military projects, as this could be misleading.
The TRF claimed responsibility for the attack on the tunnel construction site, conducted by its Falcon Squad, and characterized the project primarily as a military transport initiative.
They reiterated their warning to locals and outsiders against participating in "illegal projects" and threatened further actions against similar infrastructure developments.
The terrorist attack on Sunday was executed under the orders of TRF leader Sheikh Sajjad Gul, who has a bounty of Rs 10 lakh placed on him by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) since 2022.
On Monday, the NIA arrived in Gagangir to investigate the attack on the labor camp at the tunnel construction site.
The assault, which resulted in the deaths of seven individuals—six laborers and a doctor—occurred as the workers were having dinner in the mess after returning to the camp.
This incident marked the deadliest terrorist attack of 2024, surpassing the June 9 ambush in the Reasi district that killed nine pilgrims.
According to police officers investigating the Ganderbal attack, heavily armed terrorists opened fire with automatic weapons for over 15 minutes on Sunday evening around 8:15 PM to maximize casualties.
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