Surge in infiltration across LoC, says Army

The Army on Wednesday said infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) has witnessed a spurt in the recent past but “alert troops are ready to foil any such attempt by militants.”

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a “passing out parade” at JAKLAI centre here, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt General Gurmit Singh said the number of infiltration attempts are rising as compared to the previous year.

“The number of infiltration (attempts) has gone up this year. We have not lowered guard and have excellent intelligence network in place to take on (these) challenges. There is excellent synergy between intelligence agencies and security forces and the present security situation in the Valley is under control,” he said.

Asked if there was any direct input suggesting that militants will try to disturb the election process in the Valley next year, the General said there was no such report so far. He, however, indicated that such a possibility cannot be ruled out.

“There are inputs of large concentration of militants in launch pads across the Line of Control which indicates the likelihood of increased attempts at infiltration in the future,” he said, but added, “But security forces and state police are strong enough to foil such designs.”

Asked about the recent militant attack in Hyderpora in which eight soldiers were killed and more than a dozen injured, the GOC said the Army, in spite of suffering casualties, displayed utmost restraint and did not fire at the fleeing militants to avoid collateral damage to the people.

“The inimical elements are likely to fire upon security forces in busy populated areas and incite them to open fire so that it could lead to death of or injuries to innocent civilians and cause collateral damage.” He refused to elaborate on the investigations into Hyderpora incident even as he stressed the need for intelligence in certain areas.

The General said alertness of the troops on the LoC led to the killing of five militants who attempted to sneak into the Valley from across the border in Keran sector of north Kashmir on Tuesday. He said forces were able to eliminate militants in the Valley with the assistance of the people and other security agencies and “the day is not far when Kashmir will be completely peaceful”.