Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 21: Frequent incidents of firing by Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC) mainly in Poonch district were being attributed by security agencies more towards sabotaging Jammu and Kashmir centric Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) than pushing infiltrators into the Indian territory.
The new strategy of Pakistan Army has been observed by the security agencies during past over three months of firing incidents on the LoC in Poonch sector.
Official and Intelligence sources revealed to the EXCELSIOR that a series of incidents of firing on the LoC especially in Krishna Ghati, Balakote, Mendhar and Poonch sectors have taken place during past over three months during which very few infiltration attempts by the militants were observed by the Army from this side.
“The firing incidents were more or less aimed at sabotaging Jammu and Kashmir centric CBMs discussed during meetings between External Affairs Ministers, Foreign Secretaries, Home Secretaries and Commerce Secretaries of India and Pakistan”, sources said, adding that troops from this side have observed very less intrusion bids during firing by Pakistan Army in the past three months.
They said: “it was only in a couple of firing incidents-cum-ceasefire violations by Pakistan Army that the militants were noticed across the LoC trying to sneak into this side. Rest of the firing incidents had nothing to do with intrusion bids. However, timing of the firing incidents clearly indicated that they were aimed at sabotaging Indo-Pak CBMs”.
During past over three months, India and Pakistan have held a series of rounds of dialogue, most of which were aimed at anti-terror measures and J&K related CBMs especially towards boosting cross-LoC trade on Poonch-Rawlakote and Uri-Muzaffarabad routes.
Besides the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Home, Foreign and Commerce Secretaries have held talks during past over three months, sources said and didn’t rule out Pakistan’s formidable Army expressing its opposition to the CBMs.
Sources said whenever firing takes place on the LoC, it was generally presumed that it was aimed at infiltrating militants into this side but it has been observed during past over three months that this was not the case.
“In most of the firing incidents, Army didn’t observe movement of militants trying to infiltrate into this side”, sources said. They, however, added that a large number of militants were still camping across the LoC and International Border (IB) in Jammu sector awaiting an opportunity to sneak.
“But finding that the intrusion bids were not going to succeed in view of surveillance and installation of electronic gadgets besides awareness by the local people, the militants were not making much infiltration attempts especially during firing by Pakistan Army when the troops all along the LoC become more alert”, sources said.
Compared to the border district of Poonch, the incidents of firing and ceasefire violations have considerably gone down in Rajouri district, sources said. Very few incidents of firing and ceasefire violations have been reported from Nowshera, Sunderbani, Keri and other areas along the LoC in Rajouri district this year, they added.
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