Author: Bhavna Vij-Aurora
Publication: India Today
Date: April 27, 2009
URL: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37193§ionid=40&Itemid=1&issueid=18960
Introduction: Sophisticated equipment and
weapons, increasingly fierce encounters and the coming together of terror
groups show the change in the ISI's Kashmir strategy.
There's a new phrase being used by the security
forces guarding the LoC to describe infiltration attempts from across the
border. It's now called "armed intrusion". That's because of the
new infiltration strategy that has rung alarm bells from South Block to Srinagar
where security forces are stunned by the advanced levels of training, equipment
and the sheer numbers that are attempting to infiltrate into India.
So daring and well-planned is the strategy
that while reviewing the security situation in Kashmir during inter-ministerial
meetings, comparisons were being made with Kargil 1999. One outcome is that
the army and other security forces are contemplating holding on to their positions
in the upper reaches of Kashmir instead of vacating them till the snow begins
to melt. This is a direct result of events of the last three weeks where areas
along the LoC witnessed eight fierce encounters.
The army suffered one of its worst reverses
while fighting infiltrators in the Hafruda forests of Kupwara in an encounter
that lasted almost a week, starting March 20. While 17 Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)
men were killed, the army lost eight of its paracommandos, including a major.
"We had intelligence and were ready to stop them but the ferocity of
their defiance and the willingness to engage so readily took us by surprise,''
says an intelligence official.
Even the number of infiltrators who managed
to breach the LoC was unexpected. Till last year, infiltrators used to enter
in small groups of four and five to avoid detection. But now they are pushing
into India in groups of 25 to 30. It is almost like platoonlevel intrusions,
according to sources. This time the infiltrators came in armed with high quality
winter gear, including ice-axes, snow boots, multilayered clothing and parkas.
The terrorists intercepted at Kupwara also
had GPS devices, detailed maps of the jungles in the higher reaches and satellite
phones. "It's a big risk that the terrorists are taking since the visibility
in the snow is extremely good. So there are high chances of them being detected.
They have been using patches of bad weather to make their move. That's not
an easy task. So their motivational levels are high,'' says one security official.
The motivation is also connected to the timing.
Home Ministry officials say that they were prepared for increased activity
on the LoC considering the declared intention of Pakistan-based terror outfits
to disrupt the polls. "Huge voter turnout during the J&K Assembly
polls was a big setback for them. Now their complete focus is disruption of
the Lok Sabha polls," explains a senior official looking after internal
security.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister
P. Chidambaram confirmed that the threat level due to infiltrations is high.
Chidambaram said that four Pakistan-based terror outfits were "working
in consort". The LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and the
Hizbul-Mujahideen were earlier operating separately but have come together
now, as revealed by intelligence intercepts. Chidambaram also confirmed that
there have been several references to Taliban presence in parts of northern
Kashmir, including Kupwara and Gurez, but maintained that it is too early
to be sure.
Though one teenaged terrorist, Zamir, was
captured alive in the Kupwara encounter and he was from the North-West Frontier
Province (NWFP), sources in the intelligence agencies said that he did not
belong to the Taliban.
They said that it appears that terrorists
are being hired from the NWFP and Balochistan. Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor,
however, denied the presence of Taliban, though he did raise the issue of
women fighters being infiltrated.
The Taliban scare could also be for misleading
security forces, say intelligence sources. They admit, however, that the new
groups of intruders are qualitatively different from earlier ones. There are
also indications that they are not from the traditional militant bases like
Punjab and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir.
The army has already moved up almost 800 Rashtriya
Rifles men to deal with the onslaught. According to an Intelligence Bureau
report, between 400 and 500 militants are still waiting to sneak across the
LoC apart from the 800-900 militants already present in J&K. That's a
daunting prospect considering that a number of paramilitary personnel have
been moved to election-related security duties elsewhere in the country. Election-2009
is already turning out to be the most volatile in recent years. Now, the jihadi
factor has added another twist to the tale.
