Militants make fresh attempts to sneak in as the state gets into poll mode

With the state scheduled to go for polls this autumn, the recent attempts of infiltration from across the Line of Control have left the Army and the state’s top brass worried. Though this year the number of such attempts was at the lowest initially, fresh figures portray a grim picture. New groups of militants have started sneaking into the Valley from north Kashmir’s Nowgam, Keran and Tangdhar sectors and are using the tracks of dense Shamsabari range.

Senior Army officials claim that 500 to 1,500 militants of foreign as well as Kashmiri origin are waiting at the launching pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), especially in the Leepa Valley, to sneak into the Valley. The Leepa Valley was earlier, too, used as a launch pad for militants.

The foiling of a fresh infiltration attempt in Tangdhar sector is an indication that the process to launch fresh militant groups had already started, as anticipated by Defence Minister A K Antony and Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor during their recent visits to the LoC. “There are chances that infiltration will increase this year,” the Army chief had told troops while asking them to remain vigilant.

Since Monday, 12 infiltrators and six Armymen, including three officers (JCOs), have been killed near the LoC in Tangdhar sector.

In Srinagar, Army officials admitted that this was one of the biggest infiltration attempts that had been foiled by the Army and the slain militants were mostly foreigners. At the same time, the Army and police termed it as a beginning of fresh infiltration attempts, aimed at derailing and destabilising the election process.

Compared to previous years, the number of infiltration attempts in the first six months of 2008 was low. In 2007, 500 infiltrations attempts were reported, in 2005 and 2006, the number was 597 and 573, respectively. This year, in spring, around 120 militants had managed to sneak into the Valley from Kupwara. Thereafter, infiltration saw a decline. However, it picked up again in June.

In the past four weeks, the Army has foiled three infiltration bids in Tangdhar sector, killing seven infiltrators. The police had claimed that they have wiped out militancy from certain pockets of the Valley. But after fresh incidents of infiltrations on the LoC, they are a worried lot.

This year, the Army’s top brass, including President Pratibha Patil who is the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, visited the forward posts in Kupwara. Besides a briefing about the status of infiltration, latest equipment and devices to prevent it were displayed before the dignitaries.

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