Agencies across the IB, including the
Rangers and the Pak Army, continue
to assist militants in sneaking into the Punjab sector, adjoining Jammu area. This became evident when a Pakistani intruder was killed by BSF along the Indo-Pak border in Pathankot where the force is on high alert following the January 2 terror attack on air force base. Officials said a BSF team deployed along the International Border (IB) saw suspicious movement of at least three infiltrators near the Bamiyal area on Thursday morning. In order to thwart a bid to breach the border, the troops fired. One intruder was killed while the two others fled back to Pakistan. The area where the incident took place is called Taash and is in Gurdaspur sector near Bamiyal in Pathankot. Incidentally, Bamiyal is the same area from where it is widely suspected that the terrorists from Pakistan who perpetrated the IAF base attack in Pathankot had sneaked into the country. Gurdaspur Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police, N K Mishra and Commandant of the 132nd battalion deployed in the area, S S Dabas were recently transferred by BSF and a court of inquiry was ordered to look for any lapses that could have led to the Pathankot attack in which seven security personnel were killed. As far as the January 2 infiltration is concerned, authorities hold BSF responsible for some laxity and that is the reason that two senior officers were transferred.
Besides the central government, J&K Governor N N Vohra is also worried over the Pathankot incident. In fact, during the last three years, militants and their handlers have concentrated on the IB in Pathankot touching Jammu sector and that is the reason that the level of infiltration bids by militants has increased.Vohra is keen to goad the security agencies for upgrading the anti-ingress grid so that militants do not find it easy to sneak into the Indian territory for carrying out terror strikes against soft targets besides the camps of Army and the paramilitary forces. Vohra is worried over the increase in terror attacks on defence establishments and in this connection has suggested BSF and Army to plug all loopholes on the IB and the LoC. His suggestion assumes added significance because of the growing activities of the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the ISIS in other Islamic countries, especially Syria and Iraq. The governor's worry is understandable because most of the terror strikes on the defence establishments have taken place in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and the Pathankot-Gurdaspur belt.
These concerns have increased in the state, particularly after the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base. The governor has asked the security forces to remain alert in view of 16 attacks on the defence establishments since September 2013. Terrorists mounted these attacks on Army camps and police stations, leaving a total of 51 persons dead. Records reveal that two such attacks had taken place in 2013; three in 2014; six in 2015 and one in January 2016. It is significant that all these terror attacks targeted J&K oolice, Central Armed Police Forces, Army and Air Force. In the attacks from across the IB, three had taken place via Kathua, two via Samba and one via Arnia. In the attacks from across the LoC, one was on the Army Regimental Centre at Mohra in the Uri Sector and the other two in the Tangdhar sector. The remaining were at Udhampur, Dinanagar and Pathankot. These 12 terror attacks, in the period since September 2013, resulted in the killing of 51 persons (Army-16,J&K Police-12, civilians-11, DSC-5, NSG-2, BSF-2, CRPF-2 and MES-1) and injuring of 15 BSF personnel. Hence there is need for upgrading the security and the anti-infiltration grid not only on the IB in Punjab-Jammu belt but also on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.In fact preventing infiltration of terrorists of any hue is key to peace in Jammu and Kashmir.Since attempts are being made to revive militancy in Punjab, special efforts are needed to plug loopholes on the IB in Punjab failing which Jammu sector could also face serious security problems. |
