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| Terrorists' training camps in Kashmir | | |
Few months back, an intelligence input to security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir suggested that terrorist training camps have been set up in some forest areas of the state. The alert was initially taken lightly but following the electronic message intercepts and the other forms of intelligence in wake of the claim of Al-Qaeda setting up base here, some ground proofs indeed have established that at least half a dozen training camps are running in woods of Doda, Kupwara and Poonch districts.
The security agencies have already confirmed the presence of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir on the basis of authentic inputs claiming that at least 40-50 operatives of the group were functional here in close collaboration with Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Though none of the state security agencies officers are ready to officially utter a word about this, sources say that they have found substantial ground facts to accept that terrorist training was being imparted in these areas.
“We have found a record number of missing person complaints, mainly youth in these districts in past few months. Reports suggest that there were fortified training camps in the Patwan and Chatarnar forests of Bandipora in Kupwara sector”, said a senior state police officer posted in Kashmir. And it is learnt that training is being imparted by the Pakistani army regulars and top Lashkar commanders.
Many of them have crossed over from Gurez sector in Kupwara, said a source. This could be substantiated with the killing of a Pakistani Major Haider Turkey of the ninth battalion of the Baloch Regiment last month in Gurez sector along with two terrorists in an encounter with security agencies here. Though Indian army later withdrew its claim of killing Pakistani officer, sources in army still maintain, it was a truth, which however has to be hidden for political and diplomatic reasons.
Whether it was true or not is not a concern but the fact that although Pakistan wants to shift the world focus from it being a big market place for terrorism, is setting up terrorist training bases in Jammu and Kashmir itself is indeed alarming.
The seizure of several motivational CDs featuring the Al-Qaeda boss Osama Bin laden asking youth to join “Islamic terrorism” and carrying different training techniques imparted to terrorists also corroborate it. SSP Poonch S.D. Singh Jamwal said that the CDs were recovered from Gursai Nullah in Mendhar town in an encounter. “There are indeed indications of some training camps but so far nothing could be said for sure. However, the terrorists training CDs could be another pointer to it,” he said.
The state counter terrorism officials say that Lashkar had transported around 100 such CDs from its headquarters at Muridke near Lahore to Jammu and Kashmir. The CDs were then distributed to LeT commanders in Doda, Kupwara, Poonch and Udhampur districts.
Another pointer could be the discovery of an underground hideout of terrorists in the Gundladhar area of Bhaderwah in the Doda district. The hideout had large reserves of food items like rice, oil, pulses, dried meat, warm clothing and many other things, which a police officer said is must for a terrorist garrison.
An intelligence sleuth told this correspondent that recent interception of the conversation of Lashkar-e-Toiba “chief commander” Bilal alias Salahuddin and a few more on a very low frequency transmitter, a mode of communication not generally used by the terrorists did disclose some pointers towards local training camps set up by Lashkar.
The camps are held in such terrains because it is convenient to hide and many areas share proximity to Line of Control (LoC) as if any offensive is launched by Indian troopers, the top commanders and Pakistan army officials can easily cross over, “ said former Indian army Public Relations Officer, V.K Batra.
Army sources say that targeting the Lashkar’s fortress in woods will not be an easy task. Though a high intensity aerial and ground military operation was held in Hill Kaka bowl of Surnakote in Poonch in 2002 against militants, it would be difficult in Poonch and Kupwara because close proximity to LoC as there was possibility that Indian aerial attack might land in Pakistan held Kashmir calling for a military conflict in area.
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