Srinagar: In a first major breach by Pakistani Army of February 2021 ceasefire agreement, Army on Sunday claimed to have foiled an attempted Border Action Team (BAT) action in frontier district of Kupwara by killing a Pakistani infiltrator.
General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Kupwara based 28 Mountain Division Major General Abhijit Pendharkar said alert troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector foiled a BAT attempt when they eliminated a Pakistani infiltrator who was trying to sneak into this side from across the border on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at Kupwara, Major General Pendharkar said yesterday around 1500 hours “in a complete breach of the ceasefire understandings arrived between the two Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs)” one armed intruder in “Pathani suit” and a “Black Jacket” was detected moving from areas under the control of Pakistani Army across the LoC.
“You can say it was a BAT attempt, an infiltration bid attempted in the Keran sector of Kupwara district on January 1”, he said.
He said the swift action by the troops deployed at the LoC foil the bid and eliminated the “terrorist” who was later identified as Mohammad Shabir Malik, a Pakistan national equipped with weapons, arms and ammunition and war like stores.
Major General Pendharkar said the incident site is located on the Pakistan side as the Anti Infiltration Obstacle System was kept under surveillance by the Indian army to effectively counter any nefarious activity by the Pak infiltrators or Pakistani army.
Giving details of the operation he said an ambush was laid along the lightly routes that could have been adopted by the intruder and his movement was tracked and followed till about 1600 hours. “The ambush was sprung at an opportune moment and the infiltrator was eliminated”, he added.
He said, the body of the slain infiltrator was recovered alongwith one Ak-47 rifle and large quantity of arms and ammunition including 7 hand grenades.
Major General Pendharkar said, the surveillance of the area is still in progress though bad weather conditions are prevailing in the area.
A search of the belongings of the slain infiltrator revealed a Pakistani Identity card with his name written there as Mohammad Shabir Malik, a vaccination Certificate issued by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination of The Government of Pakistan.
Besides, a photograph of the infiltrator in a Pakistani army uniform with the name tab as “Shabir” prescribed on was also recovered, he added.
The operation is still on, Major General Pendharkar said.
He said Incidentally this route “Randori Behak” was also adopted by a group of five infiltrators who tried to sneak to this side in April last year and were killed by the alert Indian army.
He said Pakistan is continuing unabated “cross border terrorism”, Major General Pndharkar said.
