Army to thwart infiltration with four-tier LoC ring

“We cannot hermetically seal the border but we have succeeded in preventing infiltration to a large extent,” said Brigadier Mohan Bhandari, Brigadier General Staff (BGS) 15 Corps. He said the Army is working as per the overall political process and combating insurgency in a dynamic way. Bhandari said to the Indian Army’s advantage was its rich experience of fighting insurgency since the last 50 years.

The Army has also deployed troops at LoC much before the scheduled time. Higher altitudes and difficult terrains have been occupie well before the snow actually began to melt. Besides, the troops have been equipped with electronic gadgets like image intensifier, night vision and infra-red devices to thwart infiltration.

The authorities, however, admit that militants too were equipped with latest gadgets and there was an overall technical upgradation in militancy. The ultras are equipped with night vision devices to monitor the activities and movement of security forces during night time. Their communication network has also gone high-tech, they say.

A senior security forces officer said militants were also having frequency hopping and burst communication attached to their radio sets.

Brigadier Bhandari said the Pakistani Army under Musharraf regime was trying to “mix the conventional and guerrilla warfare”, which was a point of concern for the Indian Army. “But we are effectively confronting it,” he said. He said they have reports of militants being equipped with stinger missiles and anti-aircraft guns. “They (Pakistan) have dragged internal and sectarian conflicts into jehad

as tools for cross-border terrorism,” the BGS 15 Corps said.

With reports that 1600 to 3100 militants are lying in wait for infiltrating, the Army has intensified its surveillance across LoC.

Brigadier Bhandari said these militants were camping in Muzzafarabad and at points opposite Kanzalwan, Machil, Keran, Tangdhar, Uri and Gulmarg. He said militants have been given tactical training and formulated into Border Action Teams. “But we have beaten them in their own game,” Bhandari said.

Inspector General of Police Ashok Bhan felt that if infiltration level (which has shown a significant decrease this year) remains the same, the militancy graph will considerably dip. “Since we kill more than what infiltrate, insurgency-related activities are sure to drop,” he said.

The Army estimates, however, put the number of militants still operating on this side of Pir Panjal at 1400-1500. These estimates are provided by electronic warfare (EW) maps which identify militant radio stations operating in a particular area.

Pakistan, according to Army authorities, has clubbed militant camps in Pak-occupied Kashmir. Earlier, there were around 120 camps in PoK. Presently only 20-25 camps are existing there. However, they said this did not mean that training camps across have been closed but that there is a change in their strategy.

The Army has also identified several new infiltration routes in the Valley, among them the Mushkoh Valley of Kargil fame. The Army said as many as 30-40 such routes fall in the frontier district of Kupwara alone.