Infiltration low, but Army sees no comfort zone

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Tangdhar, May 4

There is calm along the Line of Control (LoC) in northwest Kashmir’s Kupwara district. But the troops are maintaining a high alert as the “activities” across have stepped up.

With militants apparently having shifted their focus to the international border in the state, the nearly 350-km-LoC in the Kashmir region, like in Tangdhar, is peaceful and as per the Army, it has witnessed zero infiltration so far.

Senior Army officers said since January this year, they had not witnessed any infiltration along the LoC in the Kashmir region, though the activities from across the border had increased.

“Despite there being no infiltration attempt so far, the counter-insurgency grid is in place and any attempt to sneak into the Valley from across will be dealt with successfully,” said an Army officer in Srinagar.

“With the melting of snow, the militants like in the past will attempt to sneak in,” he added.

In the Kashmir region, the LoC is manned by two Army divisions --- Baramulla-based 19 Infantry Division and Kupwara-based 28 Mountain Division --- which are under the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.

There has been a visible decline in infiltration attempts from across the border in Kashmir since India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire along the LoC in 2003. In the past three years, the infiltration attempts in Kashmir are also on a decline.

“In 2012, 121 infiltration attempts were made. The number decreased to less than a three-digit number in 2013. In 2014, militants made 65 infiltration attempts,” a defence official said.

He added that a strong counter-infiltration grid along the borders and multi-tier security along the LoC had helped them to bring down infiltration over the years.

The LoC in the region runs through lofty peaks, rugged mountains, thick forests and fresh water streams from Gulmarg in Baramulla through parts of Kupwara district to Gurez in Bandipora and it has been a battleground since militancy erupted.

In the past 14 years, nearly 4,000 attempts have been made by militants to sneak into the Valley.

“So far the LoC is calm, but we are keeping an eye on the situation,” said a senior Army officer at Tangdhar. “Last year, three infiltration attempts took place in our sector and all of them were foiled.”