Pharkiyan (LoC): Over the years, it has been a hide and seek game here between the waiting armed infiltrators and the troops.
This is the time of the year that militants from across try the most to sneak to this side through the lofty peaks, rugged mountains and thick forests. The soldiers know their adversary well.
With ceasefire agreement in place the soldiers armed with high tech surveillance grid are maintaining a close eye on the now peaceful Line of Control.
Despite high alertness the militants have attempted to sneak in through the Keran sector in Kupwara district. On May 26, three suspected Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba militants and an Army porter were killed in an encounter at Jumagund area of Keran. The Kupwara district has seen three more gun battles this year, but in other sectors.
“Militants have tried to infiltrate but we have intercepted them twice. There are no reports of any successful infiltration from our area,” Brigadier Tapas Kumar Mishra of Army’s 268 Infantry Brigade stationed at Pharkiyan told a select group of media.
The 268 Brigade of Kupwara based Army’s 28 Mountain Division guards nearly 60 kilometers of LoC in Keran sector.
The Commander said it was the endeavour of the Army to ensure zero infiltration.
The senior Army officer said they are getting regular inputs regarding the presence of militants on the launch pads in other Kashmir.
He said the Army has to be always alert along the LoC.
“Whether there are five or fifty, for us, it translates to the same amount of work. So long that there are militants at the launch pads, there is a probability that somebody may come into our area, and, therefore, we have to be alert,” Brigadier Mishra said.
When asked if the ceasefire has helped counter the infiltration , Brigadier Mishra said it was very difficult to correlate the two directly.
He said the ceasefire has been holding on well and there has been no incident, from both the sides, which was in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The Commander said the surveillance grid along the LoC was robust and is an evolving process.
About the recent recovery of small pistols in the hinterland, he said nothing has gone from or come to this side from this sector
