Pak ultras battle winter and BSF

Though the security forces and the police are yet to recover the body of any militant having died of inclement weather conditions at the higher reaches, a senior police official said thatthey have intercepted militants’ messages to the officials of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) about their casualties due to heavy snowfall and frost bite at Girgin, Mandu Gala and Rupri Pass during December alone.

Significantly, these casualties have taken place despite the storage of adequate food grains and other winter stockings by militants at their hideouts on the higher reaches before the onset of winter. Pointing out that the higher reaches of Pir Panjal were almost clear of militants at present, sources said that this could be achieved due to change in the strategy by the security forces and the police.

Besides staying at the middle heights of Pir Panjal to prevent militants from coming down the snow clad mountainous peaks like last year, the security forces and the police also chased them at the higher reaches this time. At a number of places, the militants were forced to abandon their winter stockings and flee for safety in view of the "seek and destroy operations" launched by thesecurity forces.

As a result, while a number of militants were killed during encounters, many others died of extreme cold there. A few others, who dared to come down, were challenged and eliminated by the security forces stationed at the middle heights, sources said and added that these included about a dozen militant commanders.

Senior police officials pointed out that only about a dozen militants have so far been able to come down from the snow clad higher reaches so far. These include their two commanders, Farid of Hizbul Mujahideen and Pir Panjali of Hizbul Mujahideen’s Pir Panjal regiment, sources said. While the former was a Kashmiri youth, the other hailed from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

However, those having succeeded in coming down from the higher reaches to the middle heights of Pir Panjal were maintaining a low profile in view of the mounting pressure of the security forces on them. Same was the position of militants already operating there, sources said and added that they appear to beinterested in gaining time for the time being in view of the closure of mountainous passes due to heavy snowfall.

A senior police official, however, said that the militants were also running short of weapons due to disruption in supplies from Kashmir Valley and across the Line of Control in view of the closure of mountainous passes due to heavy snowfall at the higher reaches. Under the given situation, they (militants) had divided themselves into small groups and were lying low to escape the attention of the security forces and the police.

However, after clearing the higher reaches of militants, the latter have shifted their entire focus at the middle and lower heights of Pir Panjal. The combing operations, which have come to a stand still at the higher reaches, are continuing at the latter places to flush out the militants, he added.