1. Gilgit-Baltistan borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west,
Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Pakistan-
administered Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir to the
southeast. It covers an area of 72,971 sq. km. and is highly mountainous. Skardu, one of Gilgit’s
districts is located in Skardu Valley, at the confluence of the Indus and the Shigar Rivers at an
altitude of nearly 2,500 m (8,200 ft). The town is surrounded by grey-brown coloured mountains,
which hide the 8,000 meter peaks of the nearby Karakoram Range.
Unknown to the outside world, the ruins of the Skardu Fort had become the home for
Oomer Faruqui and Abdoolah Mohair – the hijackers of the IC-814 flight to Kandahar over a
decade back. Faruqui and Mohair were also the mastermind behind the attack on India’s
Parliament and the attack on Mumbai on 26/11. Operating in the fort was their central control
room whose only giveaway was the antenna perched on the roofs of dilapidated buildings.
Bulldozers had also been deployed to level the vast grounds inside the fort and dug trenches.
Masons had been commissioned to erect bunkers and targets. Large concrete magazines had also
made their mysterious appearances.
ISRO HQ in Bangalore 4:00 pm 25th Feb, 2011 – “Sir there is an odd structure that has
just come up”, exclaimed Bunker, the shift ‘watch’ to his commander, the battle-tested and
hawk-eyed Srinath Iyer.
“Zoom in”, Iyer roared as Bunker coaxed his computer terminal into action.
Several clicks later a reluctant computer link to INSAT 3G focused on a new building
inside the fort that looked a familiar sight.
“Of course……hmmm……hmmmm”, Iyer was gravely pondering over structural
designs that appeared on his computer screen.
“Click…..click…..click….AAh! Ha! Got them!!!.” Iyer was triumphant, almost like a
Caesar re-entering Rome after a successful expedition to Gaul.
“Get me the Chairman immediately!” he yelled at his assistant, Schunker, who scrambled
to connect him.
“Sir, Iyer here.” Iyer’s voice almost cracked as he excitedly explained what he had found
to a studied silence from the Chairman.
Chairman Batlivala was a seasoned space expert who had overseen several projects and
was the Chairperson of India’s Moon Mission Project too. Iyer’s alarming description of the new
building at Skardu Fort was something he had not experienced in the last three decades of his
career. He decided to visit the control room himself.
“Sir, what a pleasant surprise!” as Iyer greeted Batlivala.
“Iyer, I’d like to see the visuals for myself” said Batlivala gravely.

2. The satellite would be in position after another 45 minutes. Batlivala pored through
innumerable maps and structural designs that Iyer showed him.
“Sir! The satellite has come into range” Schunker screamed as Iyer and Batlivala rushed
to the screen.
“Omigosh! That structure……………..it can’t be!” Batlivala was bewildered. Around
that structure were a large number of boxy buildings evidently mad of concrete and cooling
towers. Amid the tall and leafy Ashok trees, the contours of a full-blown communications centre
were visible. Earth moving equipment were deployed there as were several workmen.
“Those faces look familiar…..pan in” ordered Batlivala. The faces came into view –
Faruqui and Mohair was supervising the work themselves!
Suddenly Batlivala took to possessed flight. He raced down the corridor and up four
flights of stairs not even waiting for the lift, leaving a bewildered Iyer and Schunker scratching
their heads.
Back in his room, a breathless Batlivala picked up his RAX line and called a number that
he alone knew – 1001.
“Yes Batlivala?” came the familiar but muted voice of the Prime Minister.
Pausing for an occasional breath Batlivala explained at length his evidence to a stoic
silence from the PM.
Suddenly, the PM was in action. “Get on board your Citation jet and report to me at 1200
hours today………..and carry the evidence along with you” were Batlivala’s instructions.
When Batlivala arrived in the Prime Minister’s Office in South Block, he was ushered
into the War Room. Seated across the table were the poker-faced National Security Adviser,
grim looking defense chiefs, the Cabinet, Home and Foreign Secretaries, intelligence chiefs,
Army’s XIII Corps Commander, the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister.
The high-definition projector hooked up to ISRO’s satellite through secure servers in the
Prime Minister’s Office focused on the mysterious structure inside the Skardu fort.
“Omigod!........that structure is to house a nuclear reactor!!” Army Chief General
Sikand’s voice was shriller than usual. There was pin drop silence for several moments.
“What suggestions do you have gentlemen?” the sedate voice of the PM was soft but
firm.
The unanimous verdict was a land and/or aerial strike till the Lt. Gen. Hazari ruled both
out.

3. “A land attack and an aerial strike will mean a unilateral declaration of war with Pakistan
when we cross their borders. The international community could protest again unprovoked
invasion and intervene militarily. Instead may I suggest a covert chopper strike?” Hazari stated
matter-of-factly.
Hazari’s mild demeanor had often set him apart from the other war hawks in the defense
establishment. He was therefore taken seriously by the political establishment.
National Security Adviser, Shashank Shekhar who was intently hearing Hazari making
his point suddenly broke the silence, “I entirely agree with Hazari.”
Shekhar’s word of finality seemed to go well with all.
‘Gentlemen, we go ahead with the chopper strike tomorrow night” was the PM’s final
decision after a marathon three-hour debate.
The Special Services Unit of the Indian Border Force is an elite 100-man unit that is
based in Suraksha Nagar in the salubrious climes of the hills of Northern India. Created in the
aftermath of the IC-814 hijack, this force sports its own distinctive crest and bluish grey combat
gear complemented by grey berets. The average height of the unit’s commandoes is 75 inches.
Suraksha Nagar is off-bounds for civilians and tourists and is heavily guarded as this unit is put
through its paces by its exacting Commandant, Brigadier ‘XL’ (for extra large) Sharma.
Suraksha Nagar Control Room, 3:30 pm the same day. Chiranji Lal, radio operator was
mounting a hawk’s vigil on the main approach road to the town from his French observation
window cockpit in the Control Room when “c-r-a-c-k…..c-r-a-c-k…..Alpha Delta to Alpha
Omega………..repeat…..are you reading me?”
Alpha Delta was none other than the legendary Inspector General SK Kathpalia calling
from Force HQ in New Delhi.
“IG arriving S(uraksha) N(agar) at 1800 hours……cancel all leave……..XL and core
group to be present at meeting at 1815 hours………..matter crash.” The cryptic message was not
lost out on Chiranji Lal as he raced and panted into XL’s office.
The stentorian XL looked up from his desk, removed his reading glasses and took the
message envelope from Chiranji Lal.
“R-i-n-g-r-i-n-g” the RAX telephone rang on XL’s table.
“XL….it’s a national crisis…..we need to move fifty men tomorrow night across the
border. Four unmarked MI-7 stealth choppers will be landing at your base at 1700 hours tonight
with equipment. I too will arrive in one of them.” Kathpali did not mince words as he spoke to
XL – upon his men’s success the existence of India as a nation hung.

4. Suraksha Nagar airfield 1700 hours on the same day: Four MI-7 stealth choppers of the
Indian Air Force without markings landed with a mountain of equipment. The equipment
included flame retardant carbonized viscose undergarments, one-piece assault suit made of
flame-retardant Nomex 3 coating on Kevlar, fireproof knee and elbow pads, bullet-proof
armoured waistcoat designed to stop a round and also absorb its kinetic energy, sf10 respirator
providing protection against CS and CN gas and smoke and filters for protection from chemical
and biological attacks, respirator pouch and radio harness. They also carried breaching gear like
frame charges, thermal lances and pneumatic door opener, Lock picking devices and crowbars as
well as sledgehammers, plasticuffs and glow sticks, hi-tech helmets. AK-9 sniper rifles and
Glock pistols complemented the equipment. There was enough here for a world war!
Dressed in battle fatigues, Kathpalia and XL shook hands and made their way to the War
Ops Room. Colonels Sundaram and Ghosh, Majors Kabila, Gupta, Mehrishi and Rathor
and Captains Gaur, Hussain, Kamat and Tomar who were already in the War Room stood up to
greet their commanders. Outside frenetic activity continued in getting the equipment in the
choppers ready for the unit’s fifty chosen men.
“We take off at midnight, cross the border near Gilgit at 0130 hours and reach Skardu at
0215 hours.” Kathpalia had to be a decisive leader.
“The choppers shall not land but hover over the fort with their search lights on. The heat
monitors and communication equipment will guide our men inside the fort. They will land on the
northern and eastern side of the fort and make their way – about 100 yards each – toward the
nuclear reactor. The orders are to shoot to kill any resistance.”
Major Kabila, a battle-scarred veteran of many missions helpfully pointed out, “All
terrorist lighting and energy generating systems are to be knocked out first so that they are
unable to communicate.”
Captains Gaur and Hussain laid out the maps on the table. The men would be split into
groups of 10 soldiers and two officers each with the two Colonels coordinating the electronic
monitoring from the choppers. The Citation jet carrying Kathpalia and XL would be the ‘eye in
the sky’ and jam radar and radio communications. As back-up, an Orion AWACS of the Indian
Navy would monitor the entire area and warn of any Pakistani scrambling of air or land forces in
response.