Aaryan Sharma
JAMMU: With guns falling silent along the Line of Control in the aftermath of massive counter offensive by the Indian army in which several Pak army posts suffered extensive damages, the focus is likely to be shifted to the International Border for pushing small groups of heavily armed infiltrators inside the Indian territory to carry out terror strikes.
For the past several days, Pak army was trying to push small groups of infiltrators in the garb of cover fire but alert Indian troops foiled all the major infiltration bids.
Now with peak winters approaching and mountain passes most likely to be blocked in the coming days the traditional infiltration routes along the Line of Control would be less in vogue as compared to plain areas along the International Border in Jammu region.
To plug the gaps, the BSF authorities have already started beefing up its defences and most likely to activate Winter Border Management Strategy.
The frequency of regular foot patrolling and number of jawans guarding the International Border would be increased to ensure militant handlers were not able to push infiltrators taking advantage of the foggy weather conditions.
The water bodies dotting the International Border also pose a challenge to the BSF jawans due to undulating hostile terrain in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, the focus of the para military forces and the state police would be to prevent any major militant strike in the hinter land. According to official sources the total number of militancy related incidents has already touched all time high of last four years.
Till November 20, over 290 incidents of militant-related violence have been reported in the State in which 67 security personnel have sacrificed their lives. Compared to this, 39 security personnel were killed in 208 incidents in 2015 while 222 incidents were reported in 2014 and 170 in 2013.
Moreover, nearly 216 ceasefire violations including 170 after the surgical strikes and death of 14 soldiers was another pointed that the coming winters will be “hot and violent,” officials said.
After 2007 the current year 2016 is turning out to be the worst year for security forces in the state.
According to official sources, the current year will record the highest number of casualties after 2007. Conversely, 2016 would also record the highest number of successful militant infiltration from Pakistan after 2007.
The security forces lost 122 men in 2007. The number dropped to 57 in 2008, and by 2012 the number of security forces killed in terrorist attacks fell to just 15.
Since then, however, it has climbed, with 53 security personnel killed in 2013.
