The Hindu : National : Infiltration offensive on LoC causing concern

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Sunday, Jul 02, 2006

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National

Infiltration offensive on LoC causing concern

Praveen Swami

Despite Army successes, terrorists replenishing cadre and weapons for ongoing campaign

— Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Police and villagers clearing the bodies at an Army camp at Chokibal, 125 km from Srinagar, on Saturday. Eight militants were killed when they tried to infiltrate.

SRINAGAR: Despite the successful interdiction of one of the largest cross-border infiltration attempts in recent months, the Army is deeply concerned over continued terrorist efforts to penetrate its defences along the Line of Control.

On Thursday night, troops of the 16 Sikh Regiment shot dead eight Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists who were attempting to cross the Line of Control at Hema, near Rangni Post on the LoC in the Keran sector. Sources said the terrorists had succeeded in cutting the barbed wire fencing along the LoC, but were then detected with thermal imaging systems and interdicted.

Despite the Army's successes, terrorists appear to have been able to part-replenish the material needed for their ongoing campaign. On June 20, two weeks after a large infiltration attempt was interdicted in the Macchal sector, troops recovered a multi-tonne cache which included 338 hand-grenades, the weapon of choice in recent urban terrorist strikes. Large stocks of explosives and communication equipment were also found.

Terrorists have also improved their fencing-penetration skills. Days before Thursday's infiltration attempt was interdicted, sources said, a large Lashkar unit had succeeded in cutting the fencing without activating sensors. While fencing has improved interdiction considerably, an estimated 30 to 40 per cent of defensive line along the LoC is destroyed by snowfall, leaving gaps which take up to six months to repair.

Steady decline

Data obtained by The Hindu shows that 189 terrorists have succeeded in crossing the LoC between January and May. Before snow closes the mountain passes in November, most experts agree, the overall infiltration for 2006 is likely to be somewhat lower than the 2005 figure, 597. Several factors, including improved electronic surveillance and diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, appear to have driven the decline.

Although a precise determination of successful infiltration is near-impossible, official estimates suggest it has been in steady decline since 2001, when an estimated 2,417 terrorists crossed the LoC. The figure fell to 1,504 in 2002, 1,373 in 2003, and 537 in 2004, rising somewhat in 2005 because of the degradation of Indian forward defences after the great Kashmir earthquake of October that year.

With its northern army reserve severely depleted by counter-insurgency operations in the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan, Pakistan has become increasingly worried about the integrity of its defensive posture along the LoC. India has rejected Pakistan's calls for a reduction of troops in the region, pointing to continued cross-border infiltration.

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