There has been a spate of incidents along the Line of Control with Pakistan, where the enemy has attempted to infiltrate terrorists into Indian territory. Almost 50 ceasefire violations from the Pakistani side have been reported in the last month alone. Nearly two dozen infiltration attempts have occurred in the past two months. This points to a clear design by Pakistan to incite violence inside India following the formation of a new government in Pakistan that lacks a popular mandate.
The terrorists have been provided with new kinds of arms and ammunition, including steel bullets and, in some cases, armor-piercing bullets. The new set of terrorists appears to be better trained in stealth and jungle warfare. They are being pushed in with the help of tunnels and old guides. Some of the infiltrators are entering unarmed through normal routes or even via Nepal, and then acquiring weapons near the LOC. Drones with heavy payload capacities are being used to drop weapons along the LOC, which are then utilized by these infiltrators.
After operating for a couple of days in the Rajouri and Poonch areas, these terrorists generally try to either sneak into Baramulla and Kupwara, or some have even tried to move towards Udhampur (Reasi). If the infiltration has taken place from the Samba or Kathua border, they climb up the hills of Doda district and hide there.
Over time, police checkpoints have become ineffective in the Jammu region. These checkpoints are routine and do not check for suspicious elements. There was a time when checkpoints were jointly established by security forces on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway itself, and IDs were thoroughly checked. Yasin Malik was caught by troops of the 8RR at one such checkpoint with a huge amount of foreign currency. Multiple checkpoints in Batote, Anantnag, and Premnagar used to be established by army units until 2007. This practice has since been discontinued. It has also been noticed with concern that women couriers are used by terrorists once they move from border areas to the hinterland. After carrying out an attack, they hide the weapons and move to areas in the Doda forests, asking women couriers to bring the weapons. The women generally go unnoticed and are seldom questioned. It’s time to deploy some women soldiers on the ground to search these women who are acting as couriers.
(Author has first hand experience of encounters in the Doda Forests)
