Rise in infiltration worries police
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, July 9 — Police authorities continue to be worried over the way large groups of Pakistan-trained militants, including foreign mercenaries, have managed to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir, despite the deployment of additional troops on the entire 1,260 km-long Indo-Pakistan border.

The state government’s senior functionaries have received reports that since the outbreak of armed conflict in the Kargil-Dras belt in May more than 1,000 militants have infiltrated in to the state from Gurez, Kupwara, Uri, Poonch, Rajouri and Akhnoor sectors.

After having infiltrated into the Indian border the militants regroup at several places where the commanders then send small groups to different districts and tehsil headquarters. Majority of the new infiltrators have been, according to the police, directed to concentrate their activities in Doda, Poonch, Rajouri districts and the upper reaches of Udhampur in the Jammu province and in Kupwara, Anantnag, Baramula and on the Srinagar-Kargil highway.

The functionaries said since the battle between the Indian and Pakistani troops assumed alarming dimensions in the Kargil-Dras belt, Pakistani troops had mounted an offensive on the Indian forces in nine sectors in the state. They have resorted to heavy shelling in Gurez, Machel and Tangdhar areas of Kupwara district, besides Poonch, Rajouri and Akhnoor sectors during the past two months.

Police sources said since Pakistan felt isolated on the Kargil conflict and was under pressure to withdraw its troops and infiltrators it might plan a new strategy to increase infiltration. The sources said after the gradual withdrawal of the infiltrators and soldiers from the Kargil-Dras belt, the militants, who by then would have established their bases in various parts of the state, might receive the green signal for kicking up subversive violence. Once the militants succeeded in their mission Islamabad could convince the world that the problem of insurgency in the state was indigenous.

The state government is perturbed over the inordinate delay on the part of the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani in sending additional paramilitary forces.

The frequent visit of VVIP’s and VIP’s to the state in connection with the Kargil conflict has further strained the security set up because the state government has to make elaborate security arrangements. The result is that security forces are withdrawn from the militancy-infested areas and kept on duty to guard the VIPs.

Graves of Pak soldiers found

SRINAGAR, July 9 (UNI) — Lt. General Krishan Pal today said Indian troops had found some graves in which Pakistani soldiers had dumped the bodies of their fallen colleagues without giving them a proper burial.

"We have decided to give all Pakistani soldiers a proper and respectful Islamic burial."

Talking to reporters here, Lt. Gen. Krishan Pal said the graves were found in Batalik-Yaldoor, Tiger Hill, Mushkoh and other areas.

He said some of the graves were covered only with stones.

He said there were a number of bodies of Pak intruders in the Tiger Hill area which could not be identified but a letter from the Director General of Military Training to Major Syed Ahmad informing him that he had been selected for staff course 2000 was recovered.

"We buried with full respect two bodies right on the top of Tiger Hill and efforts are on to lay to rest the other bodies also," he said.

He said the body of Captain Kamal Sheikh of 12 Northern Light Infantry was recovered in civilian clothes in Tiger Hill.

Lt. Gen. Pal said pay books, personal dairies, telephone index and other documents recovered from the intruders clearly showed the direct involvement of the Pakistan Army.