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| Slain militants trained at LeT’s “Martial Arts University” at Muridke, Lahore ? | | Large number of militants bracing up for infiltration into J&K: Army | |
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
SRINAGAR, Mar 25: While infiltrating into Kashmir valley from Athmuqam area of PoK on around March 7th, the group of over two dozen heavily armed Lashkar-e-Toiba cadres had equipped itself with Russian AK rifles, Iranian Keshavarz snow-boots, plastic water bottles from China, cashew nuts from Afghanistan and Etrex Global Positioning Systems (GPS) from Taiwan. Yet the most startling indication of the militants’ logistic support comes from nowhere other than Muridke---Lashkar-e-Toiba’s headquarters in the outskirts of Lahore. Almost all of the 17 slain militants’ T-shirts, which are part of their combat uniform, carry the markings of “University of Wushu Kung Fu Martial Arts, Muridke” in boldly painted letters.
This “University” may be nothing more than an ordinary martial arts center but it has, interestingly, surfaced in days of the Pakistani government’s claim that the Jamaat-ud-Dawa headquarters had been “taken over” by the State.
With the major Indian military operation in Kupwara completing six days, Brigadier General Staff (BGS) at headquarters 15 Corps, Brig Gurmit Singh, today disclosed that “a large number of militants” in PoK was bracing up for infiltration into Kashmir valley. He claimed that Army was well in possession of “accurate human intelligence from both sides of the LoC” and said that 300 to 400 militants, mostly foreigners, were already present in the Valley. Total number of such militants, according to his endorsement of the Indian Army chief’s recent revelation, was 700 to 800.
However, resisting sustained grilling of mediapersons at the crowded news conference here, Brig Singh refused to reveal whether the Army’s “specific intelligence inputs from across the LoC” had been flowing in from its own sources, or from the Pakistani security forces (under a joint mechanism on counter-terrorism) or from both. He repeatedly asserted that he would not take any question that could jeopardize the country’s national security or would not be directly and specifically on the six-day-long operation in Kupwara.
Brig Singh said that the equipment and material seized from the militants in Operation Rangwar indicated that Pakistani security forces provided assistance to the ultras, mostly comprising heavily-armed foreigners, to infiltrate into the Indian territory. "The map, guidance systems and equipment (seized in the gunbattles) are indicative that the state and security forces’ assistance from across the border was there as such material is not usually there in the civil domain," he said.
BGS asserted that all the infiltrators killed in the Kupwara operation were “highly trained, well-kitted and indoctrinated militants”, mostly Pakistani cadres of Lashkar-e-Toiba. He said that 17 militants of the group had been eliminated by Army in the last five days and search was on for the remnants, if any. He said that others, if any, would meet the fate of those already eliminated by the troops. He strongly refuted the Lashkar spokesman Dr Abdullah Gaznavi’s claim that 25 Indian troopers had got killed in the operation as against only 10 militants. He insisted that only 8 soldiers, including a Major, and 17 of the militants had died in the operation. He said that a few of the militants could be the local helpers and cadres who, according to the intelligence inputs available with the Army, had gone to receive the group from PoK side.
Singh claimed that 23 AK assault rifles, one pistol, four Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGLs), 19 UBGL grenades, two hand grenades, two GPSs and 10 radio sets had been recovered from different sites of the gunbattles and expected recovery of more arms and ammunition. He said that security forces were fully prepared to take on the infiltrators but added that some of the surveillance and detecting equipments were still buried under thick accumulation of 6 to 8 ft of snow on the LoC. Thick forest cover, inclement weather and poor visibility in the embattled area had stood as obstacles in the military operation, he said.
When mediapersons sought his reaction to some reports that one of the militants from Sawat (NWFP, Pakistan) had been captured alive and two of the Army’s civilian porters had also disappeared in the operation, BGS insisted that he had no such knowledge. He suggested that both the reports were incorrect. He, however, revealed that the Indian security forces officials had conducted a flag meeting with their Pakistani counterparts at Uri and lodged their protest over a minor violation of the ceasefire that has been holding since November 2003. One Indian soldier had sustained injuries in an incident of firing from the PoK side at Kamalkote, Uri, on March 21 last.
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