Infiltration from across LoC low: Army

A senior Army official in Jammu and Kashmir has said infiltration from across the border this year is low.

Endorsing the Prime Minister's recent statement, a senior Army official in Jammu and Kashmir has said infiltration from across the border this year is "low" as compared to last year.

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"Infiltration is not at an alarming level and there is no three or four-fold increase. Instead, it is low this year as compared to last year," General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen Deepak Kapoor told reporters at Northern Commnad headquarters at Udhampur last night.

He stood by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement at Nainital about infiltration having "diminished", but said it was continuing.

He also agreed with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who said in July that the level of infiltration had increased. The GOC-in-C said "it was so" then.

It had gone up slightly in July but later dipped and remained at a reduced level, he said.

Responding to a question on a Ramzan ceasefire, Kapoor said "there has been no discussion at our level or at the government level. The Army has no role in the ceasefire. It is the government that has to take a decision. If the ceasefire with Hizbul Mujahideen is genuine and two-sided, it is workable but if it is one-sided, it cannot work+".

He referred to the withdrawal of ceasefire with ULFA and said Hizb could use the opportunity to trigger violence and consolidate itself.

The GOC-in-C refuted reports about the presence of Al Qaeda in Kashmir and said "the Army is capable of dealing with them. Till now, there are no such reports. It is only in the media".