The Army is concerned over Pakistan Army violating ceasefire in Drass near Kargil on August 11 and 12 before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to address a public rally in Kargil on August 12. This zone is generally peaceful as compared to Jammu and Srinagar sectors where Pakistan Army gives covering fire to militants to enable them to infiltrate into Kashmir from across the line of Control (lOC). The operational commanders are trying to figure out Pakistan’s game plan.
Forward posts in Drass came under heavy firing on two successive days and the firing on August 12 lasted for more than one hour. However, no casualty was reported on the Indian side and radio intercepts indicated that a Pakistan Army officer was seriously wounded in retaliatory action by the Indian Army. He had to be airlifted to Skardu in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK) for immediate medical treatment.
While able to thwart the attack and inflict damage on the opposite side, the Army top brass is concerned over the ceasefire violation in this relatively peaceful sector. In fact, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, who was in leh on August 12 to take stock of operational preparedness of his troops and receive Modi the next day, reviewed the incident with his commanders, officials said on Sunday.
Elaborating upon the sense of “unease” over the Drass firing, they said the last incident of ceasefire violation took place in this area in September last year. The entire 750 km long lOC became ‘hot’ after five Indian soldiers were killed in August last year in Poonch in a cross- border raid by a team of Pakistan commandos and militants.
Ceasefire violation by Pakistan and retaliatory action by India continued all along the lOC continued for more than a month. Situation cooled down after then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the issue on the sidelines of UN Summit in New York in late September.
The latest incident in Kargil nearly after a year has confused the security establishment as militants generally do not infiltrate from this area, they said. Not willing to take a chance, the local commanders carried out reconnaissance of the affected sector and so far did not find any signs of attempted infiltration.
However, the possibility of militants trying to sneak in from there in the coming weeks was not ruled out, officials said adding the Pakistan Army was perhaps trying to test India’s preparedness to check infiltration in Drass and Kargil.
Backing their apprehension with ground situation, they said most of the ingress routes there are at a height of more than 15,000 feet and at this time of the year snow is very thin and easily negotiable. Weather starts to turn very cold by end October and the ISI backed militants, now finding it difficult to infiltrate from traditional routes in Jammu and Srinagar valley, were trying new routes before snow blocked the passes.
Another plausible reason for firing on Indian posts was to send a message on the eve of Modi’s visit that the Pakistan Army calls the shot in its country despite peace overtures by political dispensations of both the countries. Given the fact that two countries fought a war in 1999 in Kargil, the local commanders were now redrawing their strategy to guard the lOC there, officials said.
Meanwhile, three dozen incidents of ceasefire violations were reported from Jammu region alone with 19 between May 27 and July 17 after Modi took over as Prime Minister.
At least three Indian soldiers including one BSF jawan was killed in cross border strikes by the Pakistani forces. During the same period Pakistan Rangers and Pakistan Army have attempted to disrupt the normal life of border residents and have trained their guns towards civilian areas.
As compared to areas bordering the lOC, villages located close to the International border in RS Pura sector were worst affected in cross border-shelling. The live stock, civilian houses were hit hard and bore the brunt of heavy firing.
Panic stricken villagers have been forced to stay awake inside bunkers due to continuous targeting of civilian areas in Arnia sub sector of RS Pura in Jammu frontier. The situation along the lOC in Poonch sector is similar too.
Major incidents of cross-border firing
MAY 19, 2014
An Indian Army jawan was martyred along the line of control in Akhnoor sector.
JUlY 16, 2014
A BSF soldier was killed and seven others including four civilians were injured as Pakistani Rangers resorted to ‘unprovoked' firing along the International Border (IB) in the Arnia forward area of RS Pura sector in Jammu district.
JUlY 22, 2014
Border Action Team (BAT) comprising members of different militant outfits aided by the Pakistani army breached the lOC in Pallanwala sector of Akhnoor and killed one Indian soldier approximately 700 metres inside the Indian territory.
AUGUST 11, 2014
On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan Rangers once again provoked Indian troops by targeting at least ten border outposts (BoPs) and civilian areas along the international border in Arnia sub-sector of RS Pura in Jammu frontier injuring two BSF jawans and two civilians.
Total number of ceasefire violations in 2013 stood at 251 including 199 at lOC and remaining at the International Border.