Cautioning that there is a possibility of 'transnational signatures' in future terrorist campaigns, the Army's new sub-conventional warfare doctrine prescribes hitting all foreign mercenary groups hard.
"Transnational signatures are likely in future terrorist attacks," says the 45-page doctrine, made public by Chief of Army Staff Gen J J Singh, and warns that the number of groups operating in India have internal equations and nexus.
Though the doctrine does not elaborate on transnational collaborations, it apparently implies that groups trained in different countries could be making a common cause.
It also warns of weapons of mass destruction falling into 'non-state players and terrorist groups' and likelihood of terrorist organisations targeting country's financial nerve centres and banking services along with command and control systems.
While the paper lays emphasis on use of velvet gloves for local insurgent groups, labelling them 'misguided elements of the country,' it calls upon security force personnel to show 'no mercy' to foreign mercenaries.
"These elements profess no ideology or respect for civil norms and no quarter should be shown to them as they represent the face of gun-and-violence culture," it says.
The doctrine has been drafted by the Shimla-based Army Training Command and would be reviewed after every five years to keep it in consonance with the prevailing environment.
Highlighting the Group of Ministers' recommendations on the Kargil review committee, the doctrine says all apex organisations controlling counter-insurgency operations should be headed by a civilian.
But the senior-most armed forces commander represented in the Unified Command structure should be given freedom in carrying out and coordinating anti-terrorist strikes.
It also calls for profiling terrorist organisations, their links, support bases, financial backing and nexus with other groups.
The doctrine lays emphasis on respecting human rights and gives guidelines to troops on how to avoid collateral damage during operations. It also incorporates tactics to be used in urban areas as well as cordon-and-search operations in the hinterland calling for use of smaller teams armed with heavy firepower to neutralise targets with minimum use of force.
"All counter-insurgency operations should be people centric and conducted in a manner that generates groundswell for peace," it says, stressing that winning of hearts and minds should be at the centre of all such operations.
The doctrine lies down that all operations should seek neutralisation of terrorists by surrender or arrest rather than 'seeking kills.'
Troops should be deployed in counter-insurgency operations only after undertaking orientation courses in jungle warfare schools and specialised schools now set up at corps levels, it says.
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