At least five incidents of terror and infiltration over the last 10 days in J&K have made the security establishment sit up and it might have to take a relook at the winter strategy for counter-terrorism in the Union Territory, officials told The Sunday Express. Two such incidents occurred south of the Pir Panjal — in Reasi district’s Chassana area and the Narla area of Rajouri district – and three to the north of the mountain range — at Hathlanga along the Line of Control in the Uri sector, between Uri and Baramulla, and in the forests of Kokernag near Anantnag. This spurt in terror activity, officials say, points to increased Pakistani attempts to heat up J&K before the onset of winter when infiltration in the high northern reaches becomes difficult due to heavy snowfall. “While all-weather infiltration of terrorists from launchpads remains possible from across the LoC in areas south of the Pir Panjal, entering the Valley becomes difficult across the Shamshabari range running north of Lolab and the Pir Panjal range due to snow and the difficult mountain terrain,” an official said. The effort from across the LoC, the official said, is to send a greater number of trained militants in the months preceding winter, more so because of the decline in local recruitment numbers. Infiltration without weapons, using non-traditional routes, has also been on the rise. There have been incidents of dropping of arms and ammunition close to the LoC, so that these could be picked up by terror associates on the Indian side. Officials pointed to the difficulty in ascertaining immediately the route of infiltration. “While Uri lies on the LoC, close to the strategic Haji Pir Pass on the Pir Panjal range, Anantnag is located between the Pir Panjal range and Srinagar and is accessible to terrorists infiltrating from areas south of the Pir Panjal,” an official said. The Indian Express had earlier reported that while the number of militants had gone down over a period in the Kashmir region, operations by security forces had been continuing. Of the total militants killed in the UT since 2020, 549 were locals while 86 were of foreign origin, according to data until June this year. As many as 133 local recruits either surrendered or were arrested during this period, while the number stood at 17 for foreign militants in the corresponding period. Data showed that 36 local militants and 71 foreign militants were present in the Valley in May 2023, and the numbers in the corresponding period in the Jammu region stood at 13 local militants and two foreign militants.
