Army ready to foil infiltration bids along Kashmir border
Srinagar – The army said on Friday that they were ready to counter and effectively foil infiltration bids by militants along the disputed border in Kashmir, as nuclear rival Pakistan aimed to resume peace talks.
Tensions have been prevailing between the two nations after regular violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement by Pakistan in Kashmir since August this year.
Expecting infiltration, the General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh, said: “As per our intelligence inputs, there are activities at the launch pad. We also got report of the senior terrorist leader which have been visiting on and off out here and we are expecting the infiltration and at the same time we are prepared for any challenge of that sort.”
Although tit-for-tat artillery fire frequently rattles the so-called Line of Control (LoC), separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, infiltration and cross-border ambushes have become rare in recent years.
In October, around 30 to 40 heavily armed fighters had crossed the LoC in the Keran sector and holed up for nearly nine days in thick forests skirting the area.
Lt. Gen.Singh also said the aim was to create conducive environment for the upcoming polls.
“As far the coming time is concerned we have the security challenge. We are keeping a very close check on the intention of those terrorists. The purpose and my task is to maintain a security preparedness in this time and create a conducive environment for the election and other processes,” he added.
The Kashmir region has witnessed numerous militant attacks, insurgency and infiltration attempts from across the border in the last two decades.
Militants have been frequently attacking security bases in Kashmir since the 1990s, when there was a full-blown insurgency against Indian rule in a region over which India and Pakistan fought two of their three wars.
The Himalayan region is one of the world’s most militarised zones, with India deploying more than 1.3 million troops to quell the rebellion that triggered off in 1989.
