E-Paper
Nine Jaish launch pads revived across IB after Op Sindoor: BSF
BSF warns of nine re-emerging Jaish-e-Mohammed launch pads in Pakistan, prompting heightened security measures along the Jammu border to prevent infiltration.
The Border Security Force (BSF) in Jammu has flagged the re-emergence of at least nine Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the international border in Pakistan that were shut down following Operation Sindoor, officials aware of the matter said.
Some of the pads, where militants congregate before covertly crossing the border, are in Chobara, Daluwali, Mastpur, Bajra Garhi, Sarjwal and Jhang Bajwat. People aware of the matter said officials have spotted movement in recent weeks at these launch pads that were vacated during Operation Sindoor, following which a heightened alert is in place across the border villages to stop any infiltration. Some of the pads, officials confirmed, have been set up within 5 kmof their original locations. To be sure, these launch pads are not the same terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir that were destroyed in air strikes in during Operation Sindoor .
Operation Sindoor marked New Delhi’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) before the May 10 ceasefire.
Over the last two weeks, the BSF’s Jammu frontier personnel, along with the Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) police, undertook a surprise check in at least two dozen villages. Last weekend (December 14-15), top BSF officials also conducted a security review of the border villages and the measures in place to check infiltration. The BSF chief, Praveen Kumar along with other top officials, inspected the counter-infiltration grid measures along the border, especially in the Samba and Kathua areas -- most terror camps of the Jaish are believed to be located in places adjacent to these border districts.
“The headquarters in Delhi has been alerted about the re-emergence of these terror pads. In the last two months, our officials spotted a trend of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists setting up these camps again. There was no movement at these camps for almost 4-5 months after Op Sindoor. They are using these camps to infiltrate their cadres into our country but they are unsuccessful given the area domination exercises in our side of the country,” an officer aware of the matter said.
The officer cited the example of the Mastpur launch pad in Pakistan, which was destroyed by artillery by the forces during Operation Sindoor. “The pad was destroyed on May 7. There is again movement of Jaish-e-Mohammed cadres at a different spot, but not far from the camp that was destroyed. It could be within 5 km of the earlier spot. They have moved back away from the firing range of our forces. At these pads, the terrorists look for a chance to infiltrate. Places like Ramgarh under the Samba district remain our key focus. This is why our forces on the border are on alert, and senior officers are checking the counter-infiltration grid measures.”
In the last two weeks, the joint team of security forces has conducted searches at different places in Jammu along the Samba, Kathua, and RS Pura sectors. The forces have used explosive detectors to check vulnerable locations and suspected hideouts at these villages. The operations were conducted in conjunction with the J&K police’s Special Operations Group.
Simultaneously, the training of village defence volunteers has also gained speed. Over the last week, the BSF Jammu sector has informed the Delhi headquarters about training being held in at least four villages, where over two dozen volunteers received advanced training. “The forces are in large numbers, so they will always be the first responders, but the advanced weapons training of village defence volunteers is done to boost their confidence and operational readiness due to the proximity of their villages to the border. In different batches of 5-20 such guards, they are being trained for self-defence and firing accurately in case of any emergency,” a second officer said, adding that training has been held for people in the villages within Paragwal, Kathua, and Samba.
