By IANS,
New Delhi : Two days after militants attempted to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border – on the day when five terror bombings rocked the national capital – Defence Minister A.K. Antony Monday accused Pakistan of backing the infiltrators.
“Militants are getting support from across the border and this is a fact,” Antony told reporters here.
Between April and August, there have been at least 29 instances when Pakistani troops violated the truce with India and fired at Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC) to provide covering fire to militants. One incident was reported in April, two in May and seven in June. The figure rose to 10 in July, while at least nine violations took place in August. About 150 intruders had managed to cross over to the Indian side since January, sources said.
“The recent firing along the LoC is mainly an attempt of infiltration by militants and the armed forces are keeping a vigil. By and large, we have been able to defeat the attempts of militants. The coming few months are crucial and we have to be more alert and the armed forces have been asked to be more vigilant,” Antony added.
According to intelligence reports, over 800 terrorists are waiting to cross over in 40 camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Punjab and Balochistan.
Infiltration into Kashmir normally begins at the end of March when the snows in the Himalayan ranges melt and the passes become accessible. Between March and July, the Indian Army says, there have been over 130 infiltration bids, of which about 20 succeeded.
“Given that the majority of infiltration bids have been foiled, the Pakistan Army is now trying to utilise separatist elements like Syed Ali Shah Geelani (of the Hurriyat’s hardline faction) to foment trouble in the state,” an officer said.
“The terrorists are desperate as they have not been able to execute any major incidents in Kashmir. And they got an adequate opportunity on Aug 15 in the form of the ‘Azadi rally’ which acted as trigger (for the separatists’ call for independence),” the officer added.