2,000 terrorists waiting to cross LoC
A defence spokesman said despite peace initiatives terrorists were waiting at launching pads in several PoK towns.
Posted at handshaking distance with Pakistani troops on the LoC, the Army is on a hawk-eye vigil with information of 2,000 armed intruders waiting to cross into Jammu and Kashmir to keep the "pot of militancy boiling".
"Despite the peace initiatives between India and Pakistan, the terrorist infrastructure is intact across the Line of Control where nearly 2,000 armed terrorists are poised to cross into this side to keep the pot of militancy boiling," a defence spokesman said here.
Most of these terrorists were currently waiting at "launching pads" on the PoK side of the LoC such as Kopramain, Badayan Gopalpur, New Thruti, Daramsal, Sona, Pattan and Kanjur, he said.
He said the terrorist camps churning out armed 'jihadis' in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were Paddar, Hazira, Rawalakote, Nikial, Mangu, Barnallah, Khorian, Jandrote, Kotli and Fogosh.
"The troops are keeping a hawk-eye on the zero line round the clock to stop cross-border infiltration, which has picked up after the snowline started melting in the Pir Panchal ranges," 16 Corps GoC Lt Gen Sudhir Sharma said.
Infiltration "has picked up though we had achieved near zero infiltration syndrome till May," he said.
The soldiers were making use of thermal imagers and night-vision devices to keep tabs on infiltration activity along the 740-km LoC some of which had three-tier fencing.
He said the soldiers were "positioned at handshaking distance with Pakistani troops" in the mountainous belts from Malu (Akhnoor) at altitudes ranging from 1,500-21,000 feet to the Siachen glacier and Ladakh sectors".
Dressed in jungle fatigues and bullet-proof jackets, "the soldiers criss-cross forests, valleys peaks on foot from their post locations to monitor areas," he said.
In the past two months, 80 intruders were killed 21 infiltration bids foiled, the spokesman said adding that 30 terrorists were shot dead in the past three days in Gurez, Machial and Sunderbani areas.
Compared to 2000, when infiltration figures were 60, 80, 80, 101, 153, 239, 301 from January to July, only 10 were reported in January 2005, three in February, four in March, six in April, 17 in May, 41 in June and 58 till now in July.
As per the defence figures, 1045 terrorists crossed into J&K in 2000, 1,136 in 2001, 960 in 2002, 437 in 2003 and 163 in 2004.