Encounters in Kashmir’s border districts spur fears of fresh infiltration
Srinagar, June 6 :The last month’s encounters in the three districts- Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora- that share Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) has spurred fears of fresh infiltration.
While the Army maintains that there is “nothing extraordinary”, the security agencies say that “some” militants from across have managed to sneak into the valley.
“The more concern is from IB (international border) sectors. Pakistan has been pushing in men, arms and ammunition through the IB now,” said a security official.
Last month, there were a series of encounters in three border districts of Kashmir.
On May 11, police said a newly infiltrated local militant was killed during a gunfight at Bandipora forests. Two days later, two suspected Pakistani militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed in another gunfight in the same district. Police claimed the two had escaped from the May 11 encounter.
Nine days later, on May 20, Army foiled an infiltration bid in Tangdhar Kupwara and a suspected infiltrator from PoK was killed in a gunfight.
Three Pakistani militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad and a policeman were killed in an encounter at Najibhat Crossing in Kreeri Baramulla on May 25
A day later on May 26, Army foiled an infiltration bid and three Pakistan Lashkar militants were killed at Jumagund Kupwara.
After the Army foiled the bid in Jamagund, Army issued a hard hitting statement and called the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control a “new deceit” by Pakistan and said the “nefarious designs of the neighbouring country was to revive the dying agenda and keep the pot boiling in J&K.”
India and Pakistan in February 2021, agreed to a ceasefire along the LoC.
Despite the ceasefire, there are “inputs” from agencies that a number of militants are “waiting to sneak” into Kashmir, which is a cause of concern for the security grid in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army has been maintaining the infiltration has come down since 2019 due to the strong counter infiltration grid.
In early May, the former General Officer Commanding of 15 Corps Commander Lt Gen D P Pandey had said that there had been only one infiltration attempt this year which was foiled .
“This year only one infiltration attempt was made from across the border and it was foiled. Terrorists have not been able to breach our anti-infiltration grid,” Lt Gen Pandey said on May 2.
The fears of fresh infiltration comes at a time when militants have stepped up targeted attacks on minorities.
This year 91 militants out of them 26 non locals have been killed in gunfights across Kashmir. Majority of the slain were associated with Lashkar and its shadow group “The Resistance Front.”