Politics

Tensions set to escalate along the LoC as Modi gets ready to meet Trump

Pak intrusions rise on the LoC as NaMo travels to US

June 23, 2017

Pak BAT breached LoC, two jawans martyred, one killed

Extra troops rushed to South Kashmir to prevent fresh flareup

Ahead of the two-day long visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States of America beginning June 23 Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan Army, mostly consisting of Pak army regulars and heavily armed militants, breached line of control (LoC) on Thursday before targeting area domination patrol party of the Indian Army in Poonch sector.

The BAT team which had infiltrated at least 600 metres deep inside the Indian territory had come dangerously close to one of the forward Indian posts to target the Indian soldiers when the surprise attack was repulsed by the alert Indian troops.

In the ensuing gunfight, two Pak intruders were hit and two Indian jawans also attained martyrdom. According to ground reports one Pak intruder was killed while another was extricated by the Pak BAT team inside their own territory under the cover of heavy fire from the nearby Pak army posts.

The Indian army was maintaining high alert to prevent similar strikes in the region.

Following this provocative strike, the tensions are set to escalate further in the region.

Earlier on May 1, 2017, Pak army had mutilated bodies of two Indian soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch.

The two martyred jawans were identified as Naik Jadhav Sandip Sarjerao and Sepoy Mane Savan Balku. They both hailed from Maharashtra.

Since May 2017 India and Pakistan have been trading a heavy volume of fire along the line of control. Indian army had even carried out punitive strikes to demolish some of the Pak posts sheltering BAT teams in the forward areas.

Pak army too had suffered heavy casualties in the retaliatory fire by the Indian army.

Ramzan witnesses surge in militant strikes

As the holy month of Ramzan is coming to an end in a couple of days security forces are claiming compared to previous years this year Kashmir valley witnessed a sudden surge in militancy related incidents.

Rough estimates suggested more than 33 militants/ infiltrators were killed since May 27 in different encounters along the LoC and in the hinterland. At least one dozen security personnel and army jawans also laid down their lives while dealing with militants in the hinterland.

The month of Ramzan started on a bloody note with the killing of eight militants/ infiltrators. Almost every day Kashmir valley witnessed series of stone pelting incidents after civilians were targeted by the security forces to contain law and order situation.

In retaliation Militants also ambushed state policemen and killed six policemen in Achabal area of South Kashmir last week.

More than 140 incidents of stone pelting were reported in South Kashmir districts of Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian.

The funeral processions of local militant commanders also witnessed assembly of local militants brandishing their AK rifles. According to a fresh assessment made by various intelligence agencies, the militant-related violence would witness a spike in the coming days as New Delhi had refused to engage with the separatists on the dialogue table. Tug of war is also going on between the Alliance partners BJP and Peoples Democratic Party over the handling of the security situation in Kashmir Valley. On one hand, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been pressing for exercising restraint while BJP is in support of eliminating militant commanders to restore normalcy in the region.

Additional troops rushed to South Kashmir to restore normalcy

Ahead of first death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani falling on July 8 the army and state police authorities are gearing up to contain deteriorating law and order situation in South Kashmir districts of Kashmir valley. To restore order and instil a sense of security among the local residents the Indian army is rushing two additional battalions to effectively deal with the situation. In the wake of Annual Amarnath pilgrimage, starting from June 29 the security personnel are expected to remain on their tenterhooks to ensure incident free yatra this year. Last year soon after the killing of Burhan Wani the pilgrim traffic gradually dropped down.

According to senior army officers forces being sent as reinforcements, had already started moving to Kashmir and would be posted to some of the more vulnerable areas of the districts.

Major General B S Raju, General Officer Command of the Army’s Victor Force, whose area of responsibility is South Kashmir, had earlier surveyed the region.

The decision on redeployment was taken after intelligence reports said South Kashmir had turned into a militant hub.

Officials said army camps had been set up to help locals who were “possibly intimidated” by the militants.

The places where camps are being set up include Lidder in Pulwama, which officials see as the base for militants shuttling between Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam in Central Kashmir.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.