13 infiltrators killed in 4 days across LOC

SRINAGAR: The Army on Monday claimed it foiled series of major infiltration bids from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch by killing thirteen militants over past four days.

The search operations were underway in both Naushera sector of Rajouri and Mendhar sector of Poonch as reports last came in, the Army officials in winter capital Jammu said.

They added that the anti-infiltration operations were launched on May 28 following intelligence inputs that heavy armed group of militants are readying to sneak into J&K to carry out “terrorist and subversive activities” in the Union Territory.

They said that three infiltrators were killed in Noushera sector on Monday whereas ten others were gunned down in Mendhar earlier. “Search operations in several areas including some villages falling close to the LoC in these sectors are going on as we want to ensure no terrorists have managed to move into these populated area after escaping the offensive on the LoC,” said an official.

He added, “Our alert jawans have, so far, killed thirteen terrorists in these operations. The searches are underway in both these sectors”.

Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) Director General SS Deswal has reviewed the security situation along the International Border (IB) with Pakistan during a visit of the Jammu frontier.

The BSF is tasked to guard the 198-km stretch of the India-Pakistan border in Jammu region called International Border by New Delhi and ‘Working Boundary’ by Islamabad. The BSF and their counterparts in Pakistan Rangers routinely clash along the stretch of the border like the facing armies do in parts of the 767-km LoC frequently despite the ceasefire understanding reached between the two sides in November 2003.    

In Jammu region, the 198-km stretch of the 2,912 km India-Pakistan border from Gujarat to J&K starts at Paharpur in Kathua district and ends at Chicken’s Neck corridor in Akhnoor sector where the LoC begins. The LoC ends at NJ9842 (the northernmost demarcated point of the ceasefire line) down the Siachen Glacier over which both India and Pakistan claim sovereignty.

Pakistan has reservations over calling this 198-km stretch of the borderline as IB as it passes through “disputed” region of J&K and insists on it being a ‘working boundary’ instead.

A BSF spokesman in Jammu said that Deswal, who was being accompanied by Additional DG (WC) S Panwar and IG BSF Jammu frontier NS Jamwal and other officers, visited various forward areas along the IB where he was briefed about the “complexities of management of Jammu border under prevailing security scenario”.

“The DG BSF during his two-day trip apart from reviewing the border domination plan visited the critical areas of  entire border stretch and held discussions with various sector and unit commanders and senior police officers on border domination and other security measures being adopted,” the spokesman said.

He added that the BSF field commanders apprised the DG about various ongoing construction works along the border and “constraints” being faced during their implementation.

In Kupwara, the J&K police said that it seized a consignment of ammunition and communication equipment sent to the Valley-based militants by their Pakistani “handlers”.

A police spokesman said that the Kupwara police received a “specific input” that a resident of Amrohi village of Kupwara’s Karnah sector identified as Muhammad Hafeez Raina has received a consignment of some incriminating material from across the LoC and that he has been asked to deliver the same to “an unknown militant organisation” in the Valley.

“Upon this information a team of the cops from Police Post Taad apprehended the suspected person and conducted a search of the area which led to the recovery of incriminating material including ten grenades, two hundred rounds of AK 47 rifle and four wireless sets,” the spokesman claimed.

The J&K police in a separate statement also claimed that it along with the Army’s 50 Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force’s D/29 unit busted a ‘narco-terror module’ linked with Jaish-e-Muhammad in Chadoora area of the Valley’s central Budgam district.

It identified the five “terror associates” arrested by the security forces as Mudassir Fayaz, Shabir Ganaie, Sageer Ahmad Poswal, Issaq Bhat and Arshid Thoker  but withheld the name of the sixth accused for unspecified reasons.

The police statement said that the recoveries from the accused included one Chinese pistol with four rounds of ammunition, one hand grenade, one kilogram of heroine and Rs 155,000 cash.

It added, “As per initial investigation, it has been revealed that this module was working in close connection with Pakistan based terror handlers and was involved in drug trade, supply of weapons and money to active terrorists of proscribed outfit JeM. With their arrest the inter-connection between drug dealers and terrorists has also been exposed,” (sic).