Jammu, December 18
As troops on either side of the 1260-km-long Indo-Pakistan border are on high alert critics of the hot pursuit policy pose two questions to the Government of India.
One, have the security forces liberated over a dozen areas in the state which stand under the occupation of militants, especially foreign mercenaries, during the past five to nine years? Knowledgeable police functionaries, who have been posted at one time or the other in these areas refer to the Rajwar, Rambal and Lolab alpine forest belts in Kupwara district which have been almost under the occupation of the foreign mercenaries during the past nine years.
These functionaries, while giving an eyewitness account, say that foreign mercenaries have built pill boxes within 15 km radius of Rajwar. These mercenaries are seen moving freely on link roads connecting Rajwar with Bungus and the other linking Rambal with the Bungus border valley which has, over the years, been the main infiltration route for the militants.
It is almost a prohibited area for the Indian security forces. Whenever private cars and jeeps enter Rajwar these are checked by the militants. The guntotting bearded rebels question the drivers and occupants and once they find the driver or the occupants unfriendly, permission to move inside is denied.
These police functionaries also refer to the hilly belts of Shopian, Kishtwar, Kokernag, Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur where militants have fortified themselves in the past several years. The hilly routes connecting Kishtwar with south Kashmir areas of Anantnag and Shopian are almost under the control of militants. Militants have moved freely over the mountain routes linking Poonch with Rajouri and Rajouri with Udhampur, Batote and then to Kishtwar.
During the summer, militants have been camping on heights ranging between 9,000 and 12,000 feet in Kishtwar mountain belts. From these hilly belts, the militants descend to villages, carry out strikes and return to the inaccessible hilly belts.
On a number of occasions, the Indian troops had launched operations against the militants in Rajwar and Rambal areas but these were suspended following tough resistance from the mercenaries.
The other question is when the Indian troops have not been able to check infiltration from across the border, how is it feasible to strike at the terrorist training camps across the border? The training camps were wounded up soon after the US Government launched a war against global terrorism in Afghanistan.
Those police functionaries who pose this question say that these training camps are usually held in forest belts and there are no mini cantonments built across the border for training the militants. If the Government of India carries out strikes, what will the Indian forces destroy? Opponents of the hot pursuit policy, among them are some security experts, are of the view that war against terrorism has to be fought within the state. This can be done by smashing all hideouts of militants, liberating the area occupied by militants and by evolving a methodology for sealing the LoC.
They admit that the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir is not as smooth as it is in Punjab or Rajasthan. The LoC is dotted by deep ravines, thick alpine forest belts and rivers. There are weather-related problems. But the 12-year-long proxy war should have enabled the Indian defence forces to develop ways and means for stopping infiltration. These critics argue that once the level of ingress is reduced to zero, the war against terrorism will be won within weeks.
As a camouflage, the foreign mercenaries have not allowed the civil administration to collapse in areas occupied by the militants. People and state government employees and officials are safe as long as they do not interfere in the activities of foreign mercenaries and do not pose any threat to them. This strategy has been adopted to create an impression that these areas are peaceful and do not warrant any strike by the Indian security
forces. They are of the opinion that before thinking of attacking the terrorist camps across the border the security forces should be provided with the required equipment, weapons and other accessories for what they call recapturing those areas which have been captured by the militants within Jammu and Kashmir.
