Pak bid to use militants to hit India on ‘Vijay Diwas’ foiled
*Civilian areas rocked by heavy shelling on LoC
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 16: Two Army jawans were martyred in Pakistan shelling and encounter with the militants in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri and Gurez sector in Bandipore district while two Pakistani troops and three militants, suspected to be the members of Border Action Team (BAT), were killed and eight Pakistan army personnel were injured in Sunderbani and Leepa Valley in Muzaffarabad district of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the Indian retaliation today.
Fresh skirmishes between Indo-Pak troops took place on the occasion of ‘Vijay Diwas’, the day when Pakistan Army General AAK Niazi had surrendered before Indian Army along with 93,000 troops in 1971 suffering humiliating defeat at the hands of India leading to creation of Bangladesh.
An Army soldier Havaldar Chougule Jotiba Ganpati was martyred in Pakistan shelling in Gurez sector of Bandipora district in Kashmir today. The firing started last night and continued till this morning. Heavy firing was going on in Toot Mari Gali (TMG) sector between Indo-Pak troops.
Martyr Ganpati was a resident of Kolhapur, Maharashtra and is survived by his wife Yashoda.
In Indian Army retaliation, two Pakistan army personnel were killed and eight others injured in Leepa Valley of PoK, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Indian troops today foiled major attack by the militants, suspected to be the BAT members, at forward village of Lalyali in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district late this evening killing at least three infiltrators, who were aided and abetted by the Pakistan army from across the LoC, which was evident from heavy volume of shelling and firing brought down by them to give cover to the infiltrators. An Army soldier attained martyrdom in the attack.
Sources told the Excelsior that an Army ambush party deployed along the LoC in forward Lalyali area of Sunderbani sector in Rajouri district observed movement of infiltrators this evening as soon as it started getting dark in the forest areas. The intruders numbering five to six turned out to be the BAT members, who comprised both dreaded militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
As the Indian Army challenged the infiltrators, they opened heavy firing and tried to force their way towards forward Indian posts. The BAT members were equipped with sophisticated weapons and explosives.
In the meantime, according to sources, a powerful explosion took place at the site of gunbattle and it seemed that Pakistan army had used Anti Tank Guide Missile (ATGM) to target the Indian troops and force infiltration of the militants into the Indian territory.
Simultaneously, all forward posts of Pakistan army started raining mortars and firing with heavy weaponry targeting the Indian posts and area of encounter. However, the Indian Army which was maintaining very high alert today in view of ‘Vijay Diwas’ immediately mobilized major counter attack to ensure that the infiltrators don’t manage to sneak-in.
“At least three BAT members have been killed in the attack but the number could be more as area was yet to be sanitized,’’ sources said, adding that an Army soldier was also martyred while fighting bravely with the infiltrators and thwarting their attempt to cause casualties on the Indian side.
Sources confirmed that the major attack by militants of LeT and JeM outfits backed by the Pakistan army has been foiled on the LoC on ‘Vijay Diwas’ which was aimed at attacking forward Indian Army posts and cause casualties. While Army was on high alert on the LoC in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri since August 5 when the Central Government had abrogated special Constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, a very high alert had been sounded for December 16 as Pakistan army in frustration could have resorted to such an attack as it had faced very humiliating defeat on this day in 1971.
Army was likely to conduct sanitization operation in the area tomorrow morning to ensure that the IEDs or other kind of explosive devices planted by the militants are neutralized.
Earlier in the morning, Pakistani troops targeted forward Army posts and civilian areas at Mankote, Sagra, Dabraj, Ghani and surrounding villages in Krishna Ghati sector around 9 am firing long range mortars and bullets with heavy weapons.
The Indian Army retaliated effectively and exchange of shelling and firing continued for about two hours.
A mortar shell exploded close to Government Primary School at Mankote but fortunately, students and teachers hadn’t reached there by then.
Several houses and structures suffered damage in the shelling.
The educational institutions falling within the shelling range were immediately closed down.
Late in the evening, Pakistan army also opened heavy shelling and firing in Kalal village of Nowshera sector in Rajouri district, which was replied by the Indian side very effectively. Exchange of shelling lasted half an hour.
Meanwhile, after the Abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire agreement more than 1000 times along the Line of Control, reports said.
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Devendra Anand on the sidelines of an event organized to mark ‘’Vijay Diwas’’ here said, ‘’in the year 2019, Pakistan along the Line of Control violated the ceasefire for around 2300 times in Jammu and Kashmir out of which, record more than 1000 times was violated post abrogation of Article 370.’’
The Defence PRO further said that the Indian Army had also foiled many attempts of infiltration made under the ceasefire violations.
‘’Having been defeated in 1971 battle, Pakistan is continuing with its nefarious designs and as per data, as many as 2300 times in 2019, ceasefire has been violated by them along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir more than 1000 times after abrogation of Article 370, which is a record’’, he stated.
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