Bharat Bhushan
Jammu, Oct 30: The all-weather barbed fence along the J&K borders has proved to be handy for India in restricting the unhindered flow of militants, hawala money and narcotics from Pakistan into the State.
Before its coming into being, with India plugging even the treacherous heights and numerous water bodies on the borders, infiltrations were attempted almost daily by the Pak-based militants. Repeated intrusion bids are being attempted now also but the success rate is very low.
"With such a low success rate, they are finding it hard to keep the pot boiling in J&K," a senior BSF officer said.
He said realising the reverses they had been suffering on this account, the Pak ISI, its troops and others (including militants), who had an easy access to the borders on their side, had made repeated bids to blow the fencing at some places on the IB and the LoC, with the intention of making space for militants.
Though its some stretches were damaged, militants failed to enter J&K territory due to the alertness of Indian border forces, he asserted.
"The fencing has indeed proved to be very useful in stopping the unrestricted entry of militants into J&K," he added.
He, however, admitted that militants had been successful in breaching the fencing on some occasions.
The officer said in the past three months, or so, almost every Pak bid to infiltrate militants into J&K had failed. It, however, suffered the biggest blow on July 28 last following the detection of a tunnel in Samba sub-sector when it was almost ready for use as a secret infiltration route, he added.
"Despite the international pressure on it to close down the terror shops on its soil, Pakistan continues to use backdoor methods to disturb peace in J&K," he said.
"Probably driven to despair after the tunnel detection, Pakistan has targeted the forward Indian outposts on the IB and the LoC on several occasions but every time it failed to push militants into the State under the cover of its unprovoked fire," he added.
Their targets were also the houses that fall in their firing range. Two BSF jawans were killed in the enemy action.
"In the last nearly three months, all the methods used by the neighbouring country to push ultras to this side of the border have failed," he asserted.
"In view of this, the Pak-based militant commanders have asked the ultras, who are already perched in certain hills of the state, to do something big," the officer added, quoting intelligence inputs.
"Their Pak handlers have told them that no one should talk peace in J&K which is possible only if they make fresh strikes," he said, sharing the details gathered by intelligence agencies through wireless intercepts of conversation between militant commanders.
This only showed their desperation, he said and added that forces were ready to foil any attempt by militants to disrupt peace in the State, and gun them down.
Those, who had completed their training in the Pak militant camps, were being pressurised to sneak into the Indian territory and execute big strikes in the country, he added.
He said, with the strengthened security apparatus and strategy of eliminating top commanders of various outfits operating in inaccessible areas across Jammu and Kashmir, militants were finding it difficult to maintain minimum number of cadres to continue their ''effective operations''.
The officer said the barbed fence and 24x7 foot patrolling by security forces along the borders had further minimised the chances of infiltration into the Himalayan State. ''Frustrated due to all these factors, the terror mentors in Pakistan are desperate to push in militants in J&K,'' he added.
He said police and security forces had also reset their strategy to counter militants within the State and those, who happened to come to this side of the IB and the LoC. |
