Despite Army’s tough stance, infiltration remains a concern

Amir Karim Tantray &Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Srinagar, May 23

As the traditional infiltration routes along the 520-km-long Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir and Jammu regions continue to be the cause for concern for the Army, it has adopted an aggressive approach to dismantle the infrastructure supporting infiltration.

Be it the May-9 bombing of Pakistani posts across the LoC in the Nowshera sector, the video of which was released today by the Army in New Delhi, or the surgical strikes of September last year, which targeted militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the tough measures have not, however, stopped infiltration from across.

Sample this, in 2016, at least 112 militants had managed to sneak into the state from across — the highest since 2012. Last year, 364 attempts were made by militants to infiltrate, which was three times more than in 2015.

This year, at least 15 militants have been able to infiltrate into Kashmir even as the Army has foiled two major infiltration bids in north Kashmir and killed eight militants. Security forces have already sounded an alert in north Kashmir after three or four groups of militants have been able to sneak into the Valley.

In the Jammu region, infiltration has been taking place through Rajouri and Poonch, where 14 or 15 traditional routes are being used by militants to infiltrate after the construction of the fence post the ceasefire agreement of 2003.

In Poonch district, the Saujiyan sector in the Mandi area, Shahpur, Bagyal Darra and Chakan Da Bagh in Poonch, Mandol in the Krishna Ghati sector (not a preferred infiltration route now), Tatta Pani in the Mankote sector, Tain in the Mendhar sector and Lohar Gali and Kanga Gali in the Tarkundi area of the Balakote sector have remained hot infiltration routes.

Due to heavy snowfall during winter, the LoC fence often gets damaged and militants get natural routes to infiltrate into this side. Forests and streams provide them shelter and sometimes they manage to infiltrate without getting noticed.

Same is the case with infiltration routes in Rajouri district. In the Nowshera sector, Lam, Jhangar, Kalsian and Khoretta have remained traditional infiltration routes while Keri, Takundi and Tanga Gali in Manjakote and Chitti Bakri and Keri in the Bhimber area of Rajouri are other infiltration routes.

The Pallanwalla and Akhnoor sectors on the LoC in Jammu district are traditional infiltration routes but for the past some time, they have witnessed no infiltration attempts.

In Kashmir, the nearly 350-km-long LoC is porous and has many infiltration routes. In the past few years, major infiltration attempts have been being made in the frontier Kupwara district and the sector is the key infiltration route for militants.

While the infiltrators are also sneaking in through Baramulla, the infiltration through Bandipora district has been dormant.

Sources said that apart from the traditional infiltration routes, militants were sneaking in through new routes in Kupwara district which included Kaobal Gali, Sonar, Kel, Sardari, Ratta Pani, Shardi, Tejian, Dudhinial, Athmuqam, Katwara, Jura, Lipa valley, Lokut Bangus and Bod Bungus.

In Baramulla, the infiltration routes are Kamalkote, Lachipora, Nambla forest, Gharhkot and Fatehwali Bahak.

Sources said all militants were waiting at the launch pads to sneak into the Valley.