Intelligence agencies have warned about a possible terror strike by “fidayeen” (suicide) squads of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) ahead of the day long visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jammu on January 15. He is scheduled to visit border district of Samba to lay the foundation stone of AIIMS. At least two groups of JeM may try to sneak in through the International Border from Pakistan and the counter-infiltration grid has been further strengthened to thwart any attempt.
The “input” has rung alarm bells in the security establishment as the terrorists are now trying to come in through “non-traditional” routes like the International Border of Jammu and Punjab. The “traditional” routes including those in south and north of Pir Panjal ranges have reported almost nil infiltration due to snow and the Army not reducing its troop strength on the Line of Control (LoC). The troop strength is generally thinned out during winter months but this time around the Army wants to maintain its tempo of operations by following a twin-pronged strategy.
Giving reasons for the alarm about the new trend of militants using “non-traditional” routes, officials said all the parameters of terrorism in Kashmir are showing a downward trend. These include more than 270 terrorists neutralised last year, the highest ever, in the last ten years and reduced number of infiltration bids. It came about through the twin-strategy of thwarting infiltration bids on the LoC and relentless operations against militants in the hinterland.
Despite these factors, the number of active terrorists ranging, 290-300, have not come down and it is a “definite cause of concern,” officials admitted. Though suffering high attrition rate, the terrorist “tanzeems” (organisations) have managed to shore up its fighter strength through infiltration through non-traditional routes, foremost being international border in Jammu and Punjab, they said.
As regards the latest threat of a strike by JeM cadres in Jammu region ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, they said one group of three to four JeM terrorists may try to infiltrate through the International Border in RS Pura sector while the other team of seven to eight may come in through Ramgarh sector in Samba.
Different intelligence agencies have already alerted the multi agency command centre in the state about the possibility of a major terror strike on a vital installation in the region.
Since the venue of the main function to be attended by the Prime Minister is located close to the International Border the security forces are not leaving any chance and have drafted a fool proof security plan to ensure smooth conduct of the VVIP visit in the area. Senior State Government and police officers are stationed in the area to supervise the ongoing arrangements.
Meanwhile, Border Security Force (BSF) is maintaining a tight vigil along the International border after noticing suspected movement of heavily armed terrorists near launching pads on the other side of the border.
The International Border has come into focus in terms of infiltration after National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December last year is learnt to have submitted a comprehensive report to the Union Home Ministry, highlighting the fact that terrorist outfits, based in Pakistan, are relying more on International Border.
The NIA report was based on interrogation of over ground workers engaged in the task of ferrying these infiltrators via Jammu Srinagar National Highway in trucks headed towards Kashmir valley. More than three dozen terrorists were transported by Over Ground Workers (OGWs) or sympathisers through the same route before they came on the radar of the security forces during gun fight between hiding terrorists and the security forces near Jhajjar Kotli on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway last year.