07-20-2005, 12:41 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Biggest jihadi push since Kargil</b>
Rahul Datta/ New Delhi
Gurez, a hilly district sandwiched between Drass and Machhal sectors in Kashmir, hit the headlines when about 15 terrorists managed to breach Indian defences and sneaked in from across the Line of Control (LoC). The heavily armed ultras engaged the troops for more than four days before they were accounted for in a massive operation, which ended on Sunday.
This daring excursion was the first one in Gurez in the last few years as this rugged terrain area is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is covered by dense forests and snow. The fact that the ultras were exploring new infiltration routes through inhospitable terrain was definitely a cause of concern for the security forces and they are redrawing their strategy to tackle the new challenge posed by Pakistan-backed militants.
After lying low in the winter months with heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, more than 2,000 ultras lodged in 53 camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) have literally opened up the 750-km long Line of Control (LoC) in the last one month.
The ultras, many of whom are local Kashmiris, had undergone training and with foreign mercenaries were now making an all-out effort to cross over into India with the first fortnight of this month witnessing 13 bids and 48 killings.
Another alarming feature of the recent infiltration bids was that the militants were heavily armed and coming in batches as large as 15 or 20. The reason behind this tactic was that the big groups would disperse into smaller groups once they entered India making it difficult for security forces to track them down. Moreover, they were not willing to compromise their local contact which is a departure from the past practice of travelling light and picking up the weapons from their contacts after sneaking into the state.
While admitting that infiltration bids have increased, Army chief General JJ Singh on Tuesday said that the situation was well under control and claimed that levels of violence had dipped by more than 30 percent as compared to last year.
<b>Speaking to reporters on the occasion of the second anniversary of newsmagazine Force, the Army chief denied that the recent spurt in infiltration was akin to a similar scenario in Kargil in 1999. </b>
<b>He said the Kargil episode was not a classic case of infiltration. It was a well-planned operation as the intruders had entrenched themselves in unoccupied areas and taken ad hoc positions. </b>
The Army chief also said the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India expressed his concern to his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday about the increasing infiltration bids when the two DGMOs talked on the hotline in their regular Tuesday contact.
<b>When asked about the role of the Pakistani army in abetting infiltrations, General Singh said it would be unfair to blame the Pakistan army without ascertaining the facts. He also said the Pakistan army would have taken steps to check infiltrations if they were aware of it, adding the ceasefire on the LoC and confidence building measures had improved the atmosphere</b>. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
He, however, <b>said the terrorist infrastructure still existed in POK and some other parts of Pakistan and the army had reports that there were at least 53 camps still functioning there with 2,000 terrorists lodged in them</b>.
It may be mentioned here that in the first six months, there were more than 33 infiltration bids and the army had accounted for more than 105 terrorists. The operational commanders did not rule out a more concerted effort by the so-called jihadis to increase the tempo of their bids to get in and raise the levels of violence in the mainland Kashmir.
They also admitted that the entire Northern Command stretching from the plains of Jammu-Pathankot to the rugged mountainous terrain of Gurez had become active as far as terrorist activities were concerned.
Moreover, the terrorists were now trying new routes and the recent intrusion in the Gurez sector was one such example. Gurez is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is heavily forested and covered by snow and this area had rarely seen infiltrations in the last decade.
The terrorists, numbering about 15, had managed to breach the anti-infiltration fence along the LoC and come at least 15 to 17 kilometres inside Indian territory before being spotted by a local on July 10. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now they don't want to blame Paki army. I hope they have not started sending Rakhi to their brother across border. <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Rahul Datta/ New Delhi
Gurez, a hilly district sandwiched between Drass and Machhal sectors in Kashmir, hit the headlines when about 15 terrorists managed to breach Indian defences and sneaked in from across the Line of Control (LoC). The heavily armed ultras engaged the troops for more than four days before they were accounted for in a massive operation, which ended on Sunday.
This daring excursion was the first one in Gurez in the last few years as this rugged terrain area is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is covered by dense forests and snow. The fact that the ultras were exploring new infiltration routes through inhospitable terrain was definitely a cause of concern for the security forces and they are redrawing their strategy to tackle the new challenge posed by Pakistan-backed militants.
After lying low in the winter months with heavy snow blocking the mountain passes, more than 2,000 ultras lodged in 53 camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) have literally opened up the 750-km long Line of Control (LoC) in the last one month.
The ultras, many of whom are local Kashmiris, had undergone training and with foreign mercenaries were now making an all-out effort to cross over into India with the first fortnight of this month witnessing 13 bids and 48 killings.
Another alarming feature of the recent infiltration bids was that the militants were heavily armed and coming in batches as large as 15 or 20. The reason behind this tactic was that the big groups would disperse into smaller groups once they entered India making it difficult for security forces to track them down. Moreover, they were not willing to compromise their local contact which is a departure from the past practice of travelling light and picking up the weapons from their contacts after sneaking into the state.
While admitting that infiltration bids have increased, Army chief General JJ Singh on Tuesday said that the situation was well under control and claimed that levels of violence had dipped by more than 30 percent as compared to last year.
<b>Speaking to reporters on the occasion of the second anniversary of newsmagazine Force, the Army chief denied that the recent spurt in infiltration was akin to a similar scenario in Kargil in 1999. </b>
<b>He said the Kargil episode was not a classic case of infiltration. It was a well-planned operation as the intruders had entrenched themselves in unoccupied areas and taken ad hoc positions. </b>
The Army chief also said the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India expressed his concern to his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday about the increasing infiltration bids when the two DGMOs talked on the hotline in their regular Tuesday contact.
<b>When asked about the role of the Pakistani army in abetting infiltrations, General Singh said it would be unfair to blame the Pakistan army without ascertaining the facts. He also said the Pakistan army would have taken steps to check infiltrations if they were aware of it, adding the ceasefire on the LoC and confidence building measures had improved the atmosphere</b>. <!--emo&:o--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->
He, however, <b>said the terrorist infrastructure still existed in POK and some other parts of Pakistan and the army had reports that there were at least 53 camps still functioning there with 2,000 terrorists lodged in them</b>.
It may be mentioned here that in the first six months, there were more than 33 infiltration bids and the army had accounted for more than 105 terrorists. The operational commanders did not rule out a more concerted effort by the so-called jihadis to increase the tempo of their bids to get in and raise the levels of violence in the mainland Kashmir.
They also admitted that the entire Northern Command stretching from the plains of Jammu-Pathankot to the rugged mountainous terrain of Gurez had become active as far as terrorist activities were concerned.
Moreover, the terrorists were now trying new routes and the recent intrusion in the Gurez sector was one such example. Gurez is located at a height of more than 14,000 feet and is heavily forested and covered by snow and this area had rarely seen infiltrations in the last decade.
The terrorists, numbering about 15, had managed to breach the anti-infiltration fence along the LoC and come at least 15 to 17 kilometres inside Indian territory before being spotted by a local on July 10. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now they don't want to blame Paki army. I hope they have not started sending Rakhi to their brother across border. <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->