Pak army takes direct control of ISI, ultras

Pak army takes direct control of ISI, ultras
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

JAMMU, JULY 30: Following Kargil reverses and fading local support, the Pakistani army has taken direct control of the ISI, militant outfits and proxy war engineers to re-establish control over the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior army official said here.

"Pak army, which till now was involved with proxy-war in Jammu and Kashmir has now taken direct control of ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) as well as scores of terrorist outfits operating in the state," Operation Chief, Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of 16 corps headquarters, Nagrota, Brig Randir Sinh told newsmen on Sunday.

Sinh, who has served as brigade command of the worlds's highest battlefield Siachen, said the move is aimed at re-establishing control of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in view of Kargil development and fading local support base.

He said the control over militancy had slipped away from Pakistani hands for sometime due to change of situation on the local side as well as increasing number of militants' killings and recoveries of weaponeries, ammunition and explosives dumps in the state in general and Jammu region in particular.

Over 400 militants have been killed, 180-odd alone in the border sensitive districts of Rajouri and Poonch during the last six months, he said adding this had given them a setback in Jammu region.

The Pakistani army has now kept armed mercenaries in their own posts along the Line of Control (LoC) and named them activists of `Border Action Teams' (BATS) or `Tehreek Jehadi' (TJ), he said.