As Pranab Mukherjee embarks on the Pakistan tour, the army said the terror infrastructure on the other side of the LoC is still intact.
On eve of Pranab’s visit to Pakistan, army talks of the need for Pakistan to back its CBMs with action on the ground
Ishfaq-ul-Hassan/Josy Joseph
SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: As foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee embarks on the Pakistan tour, the army said the terror infrastructure on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir is still intact and Islamabad continues to abet militancy in the state.
According to Lieutenant General AS Sikhon, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 corps, despite all the CBMs, Pakistan continues to support militancy in Kashmir. “There is no sign of Pakistan cutting off help to militants trying to cross the Indian border,” he said.
According to Lt Gen Sikhon, the army would continue its operations against militancy to bring about peace in Kashmir.
“We are getting a good feedback from the people. They are helping us with vital information, thereby easing our task of launching surgical operations against militants,” he said. The GOC 15 corps is hopeful that the violence level in 2007 will be low.
“We are witnessing a slide in the violence in Kashmir since 2001,” he said.
On infiltration, he said the militant ingress from across the LoC is down because of heavy snowfall. The counter infiltration mechanism by the Indian army has also shown good results.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, Army Chief General JJ Singh said although infiltration of terrorists from the POK had decreased, militants were sneaking into India from other areas. He ruled out any immediate withdrawal of troops from the strife-torn state.
“We have been able to contain terrorists from Pakistan but the infiltration from Nepal and Bangladesh has increased considerably,” he said.
Regarding the strife in Assam, he said, the army has busted two militant hideouts and they have seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition recently. On demilitarisation and cease-fire, Lt Gen Sikhon said these are strategic decisions which can only be taken by the Centre.
Singh said there were socio-political and economic reasons behind the Assam exodus. The army is doing its best to bring peace in the state, he said.
The Army chief also released a new low-intensity warfare doctrine.
The doctrine, a declassified document on Army’s doctrine to deal with non-state challenges, would be widely distributed among the Army, Singh said.
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