At least seven members of the Border Action Team (BAT), comprising Pakistan army regulars and heavily armed terrorists, were reportedly killed in a powerful landmine blast while they were attempting to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to launch a surprise attack on the forward Indian posts in the Battal area of Krishna Ghati sector of Mendhar in Poonch district during the intervening night of 4-5 February.
This is one of the most provocative incidents witnessed along the LoC ever since India and Pakistan agreed to “strict observance” of all peace and ceasefire agreements with effect from midnight on 25 February 2021.
The incident coincided with the Kashmir Solidarity Day, observed every year in Pakistan on February 5.
So far, the Indian army remains tight-lipped and has yet to confirm the exact number of fatal injuries caused to the Pakistani BAT team in the aftermath of the powerful landmine explosion.
However, highly placed sources claimed after noticing the suspected movement of a group of heavily armed infiltrators, alert troops of the Indian army were closely tracking their movement to repulse the attack. While they were approaching the line of control, one of the members of the BAT team accidentally stepped on a landmine, triggering a powerful explosion. Some of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) carried by the BAT team also exploded causing fatal injuries to all those present in the close vicinity.
A spokesman of the Ministry of Defence confirmed a loud explosion was heard along the line of control in the Battal area of Mendhar around 2.30 a.m. during the intervening night of 4-5 February.
The Spokesman, however, feigned ignorance over the fate of the members of the BAT team attempting to sneak inside the Indian territory.
A Jammu-based senior officer of the security grid confirmed to The Pioneer, “Two dead bodies were spotted lying close to the line of control while others were dragged inside the Pakistani territory with the help of Pakistani army regulars to prevent any flare-up of tensions between the neighboring countries. The Indian army troops exercised extra caution and restrained themselves from venturing closer to the exact location, falling in the direct line of fire of a nearby Pakistani army post.
The Indian army is maintaining a tight vigil along the line of control across the frontier districts of Rajouri and Poonch to thwart infiltration bids from across the LoC. Compared to Kashmir valley, Poonch witnessed less snowfall this season. The infiltration routes remain open, and the terrorist handlers are trying to push as many infiltrators inside the Indian territory ahead of the summer season. On January 31, the Indian army neutralized two heavily armed Pakistani terrorists in a fierce gunfight along the line of control in the Khari Karmara area of Poonch.
Last year, on July 23, 2024, Indian troops had gunned down two infiltrators in the same sector but could not retrieve their dead bodies as the same were also dragged inside the Pakistani territory.
In the past, the same infiltration route was used to launch BAT strikes on the forward Indian posts.
On 8th January 2013, a Pakistan Border Action Team (BAT) ambushed an Indian army patrol in the Krishna Ghati Sector in which Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Lance Naik Hemraj were killed. Lance Naik Hemraj was found beheaded and both bodies were mutilated and their weapons were taken away.