Baramulla, May 23: The Army today said attempts to push in militants into Jammu and Kashmir from across the Line of Control were continuing notwithstanding the latest peace initiatives by India and Pakistan. "I do not want to go into whether infiltration has declined or is on the rise. All I can say is that it is still on," Major General S S Dhillon, whose unit foiled an infiltration bid in Nowgam sector along the Line of Control yesterday by killing 14 militants, told reporters here.

"This month we have foiled two infiltration bids so far which is more or less same as last year", he added.
"Militants try to infiltrate more between May and November when snow starts melting whereas there is little or no infiltration between December and early may due to heavy snow and freezing temperatures," he said.

The Major General felt there might be a change in infiltration tactics now with Pakistanis wanting to hide the militants, their camps and their officers who are training them. Dhillon said according to latest information, all the militants killed yesterday belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) outfit. This will, however, it would be confirmed once the operation is over and search completed, he added.

Bureau Report