`The infiltration graph did go up during Operation Vijay as Pakistan after having been pushed out of Kargil wanted to do something different and it did so by pushing infiltrators during the operation,' Maj General Vinay Gopal Patankar, GOC, 28 Infantry Division told PTI here recently.

Admitting that reduction of troops from the area and their diversion to Kargil helped Pakistan to push more infiltrators to give new lease of life to the dwindling militancy in the state, Patankar said the enemy activities increased along the LoC during Operation Vijay.

`The reduction of some troops and their diversion to Kargil encouraged Pakistan to push maximum infiltrators during the first half of summer which now is being checked up and Army has achieved success in this direction,' hesaid.

Brigadier J S Rajal, who commands Trehgam area of Kupwara, just 12 km away from the LoC said, `Inspite of all deployment some infiltration takes place in view of topography of the terrain and Army is involved in checking it.' On the presence of militants in Kupwara, Patankar said, `It is difficult to say how many militants, including mercenaries, are active in the area but as per our estimates the figure varies from 100 to 150 in entire Kupwara district.'

But unofficial estimates put the militants around 2,000 in Kupwara alone. Most of them are Pakistani and Afghan cadres of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami and Mujahideen-e-Albadr.

Patankar said unofficial figure of militants presence in the area was `exaggerated' but Kupwara has been `a transit area for militants.'

`The Rajwar area in Kupwara is a transit area and there is floating sort of population where they (militants) move to the rest of Kashmir,' he said.

The Army officer said soldierswere engaged in checking infiltration and counter-insurgency operation and for their efforts, Army has achieved success as the level of infiltration at present has come down and has eliminated 40 foreign militants in last two months in the district alone.

`Unlike the deployment along the LoC, which is dictated more or less by the geography, the deployment of the security force to conduct anti-proxy war operation is a dynamic one and keeps changing to take on militants and check their activities,' the Major General said.

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