Machil, a favourite infiltration route for ultras

Majid Jahangir

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Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 16

With the Army involved in a massive combing operation in the Machil sector of Kupwara, close to the Line of Control (LoC), the terrain cloaked by dense deodar and pockmarked by caves and boulders has been witnessing many bloody gunfights since the eruption of militancy.

In the latest gunfight that broke out on Tuesday, a soldier and an unidentified militant were killed and four soldiers were injured, when the Army intercepted a group of militants in the Katwara forest in the sector. Thoughthe exchange of fire has stopped since Wednesday, but a massive search in the vast forest area is still underway to trackthe militants.

Machil has been a favourite route of militants to infiltrate the Valley despite being well-guarded by the Army. The troops of Kupwara based 28 Mountain Division are responsible for guarding the LoC from Tangdhar to Gurez, including Machil. This year, sources say, many militants had been able to sneak through this sector.

Located at an altitude of 12,000-14,000 feet, the topography of the Machil sector makes it one among the easiest routes to sneak into the Valley apart from the neighbouring Keran sector. The thick tree line and vegetation facilitate the movement of infiltrators and they disperse after they cross the LoC.

“After infiltrating, the militants always want to melt away in dense forest of Shamasbari range and reach the reception areas and the Machil sector provides them all these things. Besides, there are natural caves, known to local guides. Militants use them after infiltration,” said a defence official.

The Army posts in the sector are all known to the other side and at many places two have eyeball-to-eyeball contact in the sector. The Kishenhanga river that passes through the sector also poses a challenge to check infiltration.

However, the Army ensures regular patrols in the rugged terrain of the sector to surprise themilitants sneaking into the Valley.

The launching pad on the other side of Kishenganga in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) always gives them an option to infiltrate either through the Machil sector or neighbouring Shalbathu in the Keran sector.

Adjacent to the Keran sector lies Tangdhar which of late has emerged as a major infiltration route.