A top Army commander in Kashmir said that around 170 militants were ready across the line of Control to infiltrate into the Kashmir Valley where less snowfall has thrown a new challenge to the security forces to check ingress of militants.
“We have an estimate of about 160 to 170 militants waiting across the loC to infiltrate. We are fully prepared to meet any challenge,” lt. Gen Subrata Saha, General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based XV Corps told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. He said less snowfall during this winter has thrown a new challenge for the Army. “There is less snowfall this year. At places it is 12 to 18 inches of snow. This has thrown a new challenge for us but we are fully prepared to tackle the situation,” he said. He said the counter-insurgency grid along the loC was robust to tackle every challenge.
He said the any attacker on Army risks his life whether he is a fidayeen (suicide attacker) or not. Saha refused to comment on continuation of AFSPA in Jammu & Kashmir that appears to be one of the issues hampering the formation of the new Government. “Whenever we are asked to speak about this (AFSPA), we will answer. We can't say our answer to media,” he said. He said that the Army’s role during the recently concluded elections was to maintain a secure environment for the people. “Those who have to make the Government will do so, we will continue to engage in providing a secure environment,” he said.
Even as the overall level of violence continued to go down in 2014, the last month of the year turned out to be the bloodiest when election process was at its peak in the embattled State. Around 33 persons died in December including 15 militants, 9 soldiers, 5 civilians and a CRPF man. Statistics compiled by a local agency CNS said that during the year 2014, at least 220 people including 106 militants, 39 Army soldiers, 52 civilians, 17 policemen, four BSF and two CRPF personnel were killed.