Indian Army foils bid to infiltrate terrorists, 7 Pak Army regulars or ultras killed
Repulsing a surprise attack by the Border Action Team (BAT), comprising Pakistan Army regulars and heavily armed terrorists, alert jawans of the Indian Army have neutralised at least 5-7 Pakistan Army regulars or terrorists in Keran sector of frontier Kupwara district in the last 36 hours.
According to Srinagar-based Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia, “BAT of Pakistan attempted surprise attack on one of the forward posts in Keran sector. The BAT attack was foiled by alert troops resulting in neutralising of 5 to 7 Pakistan regulars or terrorists in last 36 hours.”
“Dead bodies of these heavily armed infiltrators were seen lying on the LoC but the same could not be retrieved due to heavy firing in the area,” official sources said. The Indian Army has released pictures of dead bodies of infiltrators lying on the LoC to expose the connivance of the Pakistan Army behind pushing trained terrorists inside the Indian territory.
Meanwhile, fresh exchange of cross LoC firing, including heavy mortar shelling, was reported from Balakote area of Mendhar in Poonch late on Saturday. The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively. A large number of local residents were stuck in their houses during the firing.
The Defence Spokesman added, “The Pakistan Army made several attempts to disturb peace in Kashmir Valley by targeting Amarnath Yatra in the last 36 hours. On Saturday, four Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were eliminated in two separate encounters in Sopore and Shopian.”
Meanwhile in the last one month, the LoC has become “hotter” soon after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from the US, emboldened with resumption of military aid and Pakistan getting a breather for three months from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). July alone has witnessed 280-odd ceasefire violations with more 1,600 such incidents reported so far since the start of the year.
The all-powerful Pakistan Army is now violating ceasefire agreement on the LoC relentlessly firing on Indian Army posts and civilian hamlets as it tries enabling militants to infiltrate into the Kashmir Valley.
Nearly 18 terror camps are now active and security forces are bracing for a nearly two-month-long relentless effort from across the border to stoke violence in the State.
The Paris-based FATF in June said Pakistan failed to curb terror financing and warned that the country may be blacklisted if it does not comply with its commitment to stop terro financing by October end.
The international body also asked Islamabad to take action against banned terrorist organisations. Pakistan was bracketed in the grey list by the FATF last year due to its failure to stop terror funding and money laundering.
US President Donald Trump’s controversial statement on mediation in Kashmir and a ban by Washington on Balochistan Liberation Army on dubious inputs from Islamabad have also resulted in Islamabad switching to the old tactics of proxy war against India.
Giving this assessment, officials in the security establishment said here on Saturday that almost nil infiltration bids were reported in the last six months due to a variety of reasons. They included late snowfall in winter months thereby blocking the ingress routes till March end that made it difficult for the terrorists to sneak into the Valley from higher reaches of North Kashmir.
Secondly, it was also due to heightened alert after the Pulwama suicide attack in February killing 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and retaliatory air strikes by the IAF on Balakot in Pakistan housing a large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)cadres. In fact, Pakistan had shifted the terror camps from close to the LoC to the hinterland soon after the Pulwama attack fearing a cross-border action by India. These camps are now back with more than 250 militants poised to infiltrate from these launch pads in the coming weeks, they said.
With a window of two months left before Pakistan again makes a case at the FATF looking into funding of terrorist organisations, the ISI and Pakistan Army will go all out to shatter the fragile peace on the LoC by firing in an effort to dominate. Moreover, the covering fire allows the militants to sneak in, officials said.
The rugged mountain terrain in North Kashmir provides ideal conditions for infiltration due to heavy fog at this time of the year. So far, only one bid has taken place some days back and that was successfully foiled in Gurez sector, they said. The entire stretch of Tangdhar and Gurez is the traditional ingress route with mountain passes dotted with thick jungles making it difficult to detect infiltration, officials said.