By IANS
New Delhi : The Indian Army has stepped up its vigil on the frontier with Pakistan to prevent infiltration of terrorists fleeing the country following declaration of emergency there, a top commander said Monday.
The army is also “worried” over the stepped up terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country, saying they point to a “trend” of Pakistan-backed “sleeper cells” in India being activated to draw attention away from the tumultuous situation in the western neighbour.
“We are reading the situation (in Pakistan) very closely and we are taking steps to ensure we are not surprised (by a sudden infiltration of militants)”, the Indian Army vice chief, Lt. Gen. Milan Lalitkumar Naidu, said at his first media interaction after assuming office last month.
“The emergency (in Pakistan) could lead to more infiltration, so we are more alert,” he added.
As for the increased terrorist violence in Kashmir and elsewhere that India blames on Pakistan-backed groups, Naidu said this was a “cause to worry about”.
“It shows a trend of sleeper cells being activated. The NSA (National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan) has already spoken of such sleeper cells being responsible for the blasts in Ajmer and Hyderabad. We are keeping abreast of the situation,” the vice chief said.
The press conference had been called to brief the media on the defence ministry’s participation at the India International Trade Fair-2007 (IITF-2007) beginning here Wednesday.
This year’s theme is “Defenders of the Dawn” and focuses on the Kolkata-based Eastern Command’s effort to counter militancy in India’s northeast and bring the region into the national mainstream.
According to Naidu, soon after the emergency was declared in Pakistan Nov 3, the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) that guards the international border with Pakistan in Rajasthan, Punjab and a small stretch in Kashmir’s Jammu region “had been placed on high alert”.
“Our troops along the LoC (Line of Control in Kashmir) are already on high alert. We hope there will be no additional infiltration. Our troops are very much alive to the situation,” Naidu added.
Turning to the increased terrorist activities, he said the upsurge had begun about a month ago.
“Therefore, I can’t say whether this is linked to the emergency (in Pakistan) but it could well be,” Naidu maintained.