The thwarted Border Action Team (BAT) raid by the Pakistan Army commandos along with terrorists on Monday was an attempt to retaliate against two of its officers injured in cross border firing with the Indian Army a fortnight ago. Desperate to raise levels of violence on the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan tried at least four times in the last few days to carry out cross border raids but were beaten back.
Giving these details here, Army officials did not rule out the possibility of similar actions from across the LoC in the coming days as there was lot of pressure on Rawalpindi based 10 Corps to carry out spectacular attacks against the Indian army camps. Pakistan’s 10 Corps calibrates and stokes terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir by aiding and abetting infiltration besides BAT actions. These BATs comprise mixed group of Special Services Group (SSG) commandos and well trained terrorists.
Elaborating upon the latest raid foiled by the Indian Army, sources said a BAT team of six to seven sneaked into the region of Naugam. While two of them were killed in ensuing firefight after they managed to come at least 100 to 150 metres inside Indian territory, the remaining fighters escaped back to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir(POK). The encounter took place in the jurisdiction of 17 Brigade of Indian Army, they added.
In an effort to take revenge for injuries suffered by two of its officers a fortnight in the same region, the Pakistan Army tried cross-border at least twice including the latest one in the last ten days. However, the raids were not successful, sources said. Some weapons, apparently dropped by retreating terrorists, were also recovered. These two failed raids took place North of Pir Panjal ranges.
The Pakistan Army also tried to attack Indian Army patrols two times in South of Pir Panjal range in the same period and the anti-infiltration grid managed to deter them from doing so. Officials said the Indian Army has not reduced its troop strength on the LoC in the winter months anticipating a determined bid by the Pakistan Army to keep the LoC hot. This paid dividends in terms of successfully foiling the four BAT raids, they said.
A change in pattern of attacking the Indian Army posts on the LoC was also noticed as the Pakistan Army was now using sniper fire from angles instead of frontal shots after the Indian Army took effective evasive measures. Local commanders were now devising tactics to counter the new tactics by the Pakistan Army, they said.