Srinagar: As many as 470 infiltration
bids were made by militants based in Pakistan during the year,
which is marginally lesser than the 485 reported in the
previous year in Jammu and Kashmir.
Around 125 militants were eliminated during the year
near the Line of Control (LoC) while trying to sneak into
three districts of Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in North
Kashmir, highly-placed Defence sources said.
There was no let up in attempts by Pakistan to push in
as many ultras as possible to fuel violence in the border
state this year, they said.
Dozens of militants were eliminated in attempts to
infiltrate along the LoC on Poonch and Rajouri districts and
other areas along the International Border in Jammu region,
they said.
Infiltration, which was at its peak in the early and
mid-1990s, had come down post 2003 when a Composite Dialogue
between India and Pakistan was started and the Centre had also
initiated talks with separatist leaders in Kashmir.
However, Pakistani handlers started pushing in
militants in large numbers again following breakdown in the
talks between the two countries in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai
terror attacks in 2008, the sources said.
In the year 2003, 1373 infiltration bids were
recorded. The next year saw a sharp decline of over 60 per
cent when only 537 bids were recorded.
There was no change in infiltration numbers over the
next three years but a further decline was witnessed in 2008
when 342 bids took place - the lowest since militancy erupted
in the state in early 1990.
Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda had said an
estimated 100 militants managed to dodge vigilant forces along
the LoC in 2010.
"The Army and BSF have done a wonderful job of curbing
militancy along the LoC. As per the estimates, around 100 new
militants managed to sneak in during the year," he said.
Khoda said Pakistan continued to supply arms and money
to the militants in the state.
"Pakistan is not only facilitating intrusion bids but
was also providing arms and funds to the militants," he said.
There has been a change in the pattern of infiltration
over the past couple of years. Earlier, militants would try to
cross the LoC only after snow would melt along the mountainous
passes but the desperation to replenish the depleting cadres
forced them to take on the weather vagaries as well, he said.
The first major infiltration bid during the year took
place as early as March, when the areas close to LoC was still
covered by several feet of snow. Army shot dead six
infiltrators in Kupwara district.
Smaller groups of two to three militants continued
attempts to infiltrate from Kupwara, Gurez and Uri sectors
throughout the year as the larger groups were getting noticed
easily by choppers used for aerial surveillance along the LoC.
As the militants were finding it difficult to get
reliable local guides for crossing the LoC, they started using
GPS for cross-border infiltration and locating safer routes in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Several high-end GPS equipment were recovered from
some of the infiltrating militants killed this year.
The other major infiltration bids took place in April
and May in which nearly two dozen militants were killed.
However, the biggest infiltration bid took place in
first week of September when a large group of militants tried
to sneak into the valley through Gurez sector in Bandipora
district.
As many as 14 militants and two soldiers were killed
in the operation lasting nearly two weeks.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 27, 2010, 12:06