New Delhi: There are around 150 militants at the launchpads across the Line of Control (LoC) who are ready to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, while 500 to 700 others are undergoing training at eleven terror camps, a senior Army officer said on Saturday. “There are about 500 to 700 people at the 11 training camps at Manshera, Kotli and Muzaffarabad across the LoC,” news agency PTI quoted the officer as saying. However, the security forces have successfully been able to thwart infiltration bids by the militants along LoC, he added.
He said that according to intelligence sources, about 150 terrorists at the launchpads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir are ready to infiltrate into the Valley.
Referring to killing of militants in encounters with security forces, he said, “Till May end, everything has been taken care of. There was a particular group which had come and you are aware that it got eliminated at Bandipora and Sopore.”
“I am not saying that we have put in place a system that ensures zero infiltration. Yes, there is a possibility of infiltration taking place here, but in recent years, the way we have made the fence stronger, the way the deployment has been made including the surveillance equipment, the success rate of infiltration has gone down,” he said.
“As a result, what happens is that when there is pressure on one side, they try other sides, the alternate routes. They (militants) are now trying the Rajouri-Poonch routes, the areas of the south of Pir Panjal. The infiltration here (in Kashmir valley) has gone down compared to other routes,” he added.
Speaking about the current militant number, the officer said that the figures are lowest in the last few years but they keep changing.
“We have eliminated more than 50 (terrorists) in the last 40-42 days. Their overall lifespan is negligible, but, yes, it remains a curse for the society. It remains a challenge and a security hazard,” he said, adding, “Be it 100 or 150, these numbers will continue till the time the people do not understand the futility of what is happening, till the people do not understand what is right and what is wrong. Till there is the support base, they will remain, but once they (people) shun them, then they will have no way to go, and you will automatically find this entire concept getting eliminated or the numbers coming down.”
Quizzed on whether the Army sees any negative impact of Pakistan’s exit from FATF, the senior officer said, “I think, having gone into the ceasefire understanding, and seeing what the country is going through at this point in time...there is a lot of turbulence, turmoil, and economic condition does not give them this idea to indulge once again. So, I do not think any such state-sponsored activity will take place, but it can happen at the local level with the ISI’s help, especially with a focus on developing leadership as there is none here (in Valley).”