Owais Gul
SRINAGAR: Pakistan backed militants in Jammu and Kashmir were planning to disrupt the annual Amarnath pilgrimage here as many Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), Landmine and sniper was recovered enroute to the holy cave, top security officials including Jammu and Kashmir police said today.
The security grid also said that youth who are picking up arms have been involved in stone pelting incidents.
Addressing a joint presser today at Badamibagh Cantonment here, GoC 15 corps Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir zone S P Pani and Additional Director General (ADG) CRPF Zulfikar Hassan said that there were strong intelligence inputs about the disruption of Amaranth pilgrimage by militants who were planning to use IEDs to target the pilgrims.
However, the officers said that all measures were put in place to deal with the militants who are trying to attack the pilgrims. The top officers further stated that searches were made after receiving such inputs and a US made M-24 sniper rifle and a Pakistan made land mine was also recovered enroute cave during extensive searches.
However, GoC 15 corps while sharing the details said that he won’t disclose the exact location where from the sniper and the landmine was recovered as it was a security matter as searches in the area was still on.
“There are concrete inputs and confirm leads that militants are planning a big strike on the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir. We have taken elaborate measures to thwart all attacks. Last three days were hectic for us and we conducted heavy searches along the both routes leading to the cave shrine. During searches we recovered US made sniper rifle, huge cache of arms and ammunition and a land mine that as a Pakistani manufacturing company number on it,” Dhillon said, adding that “This has provide that Pakistan is sponsoring militancy in Kashmir and that we will not tolerate it in any case.”
He said that of late after massive successes by the forces achieved on the anti-militancy front, especially in eliminating the top leadership of Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Toiba and other outfits including Hizb and Ansaar Gazwatul Hind, militants changed their strategy and are using IEDs to target forces.
“There have been a series of attempts after Lethpora attack that includes Banihal, Arihal, Pulwama, another one at Arihal again and the latest one at Shopian,” he said. “Militants are using modern techniques to blow up the IED so are the security forces using latest techniques to thwart IED attacks.”
About the infiltration, Dhillon said that of late, there has been rise in the infiltration attempts from across as launch pads are full with the militants, who are ready to sneak in. “Infiltration bids are taking place from almost everywhere in Jammu and Kashmir even from the Pathankote area as well. We are thwarting all bids in a very professional manner,” he said. The GoC also said that after March this year, July 30 saw the worst even ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Tanghdar and Gurez sectors that was retaliated by the troops after which there is calm. “If Pakistan resorts to ceasefire violation again, there will be a very hard response from our side,” he said.
Commander of Sringar-based 15 Corps while appealing the mothers not to allow their children to take up arms, said that 83 per cent of local youth who picked up weapons in the Kashmir Valley had a history of stone-pelting and many don’t survive long after becoming militants.
Dhillon said, “83 percent of local youths who picked up weapons in the Valley were stone pelters while seven percent of the militants were killed within 10 days of picking up weapons”. He also urged the mothers to stop their children from becoming stone pelters for money as the trend showed that these children later became militants and got killed.
Giving further details, Lt Gen Dhillon said that nine per cent of youth were killed within a month of joining a militant group while 17 per cent were eliminated in three months, 36 per cent in six months and 64 per cent local youths were killed by security forces in one year of picking up weapons.
Replying to a query why additional forces were being brought into Kashmir, the DGP termed the development as a routine affair, stating that the existing additional forces were in Kashmir since Municipal polls and were feeling exhausted. “The number of additional forces is not that much as being exaggerated. It’s too small just to relive those who are here since long,” he said and downplayed the forces arrival in Kashmir. Replying to a query, IGP Kashmir said that at least ten bids to target security forces with the IEDs was made by the militants in the recent past. “Five modules were bused and several persons have been arrested for their involvement in IED attacks. Top leadership of Jaish that was involved in planted IEDs that include Usman, Kamran, Muna Lahori and Fayaz Panzoo have been killed. But the IED threat still persists and is being dealt with effectively,” he said.