With the Indian security forces stretched in Jammu and Kashmir in aid of civil administration to fight coronavirus spread, Pakistan-based terror groups have activated launch pads across the road of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and therefore the border in Jammu to infiltrate 230 terrorists over subsequent few weeks and months.
The batch of 5 terrorists killed on Sunday during a close-quarters battle with the army’s Special Forces commandos was among the primary in recent weeks. Jammu and Kashmir captain Dilbagh Singh told HT soon then there have been more at the fear launch pads.
India’s national security planners have put a figure to the present effort across the border to make a summer of discontent within the Kashmir valley. There are around 160 terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) are able to infiltrate into the Valley from across the LoC in Kashmir, people tasked with the analysis of intelligence about terror movements and camps told HT.
within the Jammu sector along the international border, around 70 armed and trained terrorists are at the launch pads to infiltrate into this area through unfenced riverine and nullahs. consistent with counter-terror operatives, Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists are camping at Samani-Bhimber and Dudhnial launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and expecting the primary opportunity to infiltrate into J&K.
Similarly, LeT has been sending its terrorist cadre to Leepa and Kel launching pads in Leepa Valley and Neelum Valley respectively to infiltrate into the Valley.
As a part of its decision to intensify infiltration for terror strikes in J&K, the JeM terror group are consolidating their trained cadre across the international border in Sialkot sector since February.
Intelligence inputs reveal that a gaggle of armed JeM jihadists received their Markaz in village Mundeke, Tehsil Daska in Sialkot district on 11 February 2020. Home Ministry officials say that there have been 133 successful infiltration events along the LoC and IB in 2019.
Most of the cross overs happened between April and September 2019. During January-February 2020, the Indian security forces managed to arrest 48 jihadists or overground workers and neutralize 24 terrorists including three foreign nationals.
“The 5 April Keran sector encounter during which five terrorists were killed reveals that the LeT has big plans to infiltrate from the Kupwara sector,” one home ministry official said.
The infiltration from Pakistan takes place in several sectors: Gurez, Machchil, Keran, Tangdhar, Naugam and Uri in Kashmir sector; Poonch, Krishna Ghati, Bhimber Gali, Sunderbani and Naushera in Rajouri sector; Jourian, Hira Nagar, Kathua, Samba and Jammu in Jammu sector.
Counter-terror operatives said the most outfits involved in infiltration in recent years are the Jaish, Lashkar and therefore the Hizbul Mujahideen. But they need been learning signals that Rawalpindi GHQ intends to revive Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HUJI) in Sialkot, Punjab and Kotli region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.