President Barack Obama, while expressing concern over Pakistan’s military and intelligence links with extremists, stating that it is “troubling” to the US, and that a peaceful approach towards India would be in “everybody’s interests” etc. sounds a mite too mild, to say the least, considering that US’ monetary and military hardware aid to Pakistan has not yet stopped despite it being used by Pakistan to cause deaths of US and Nato soldiers in Afghanistan. The further irony about U.S. pressure on India for dialogue with Pakistan is that despite India doing so and even going unprecedentedly far to invite its commerce minister with an 80-member trade delegation to India as a major confidence-building measure, Pakistan continues to export terror to India to date.
A series of recent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are testimony to Pakistan military’s coordinated efforts to keep exporting terror, despite its own commitments on combating terrorists spawned by it in Pakistan. This analyst has accessed inputs which give precise details of how well organised and orchestrated the direct support of both the Pakistan Army and its military intelligence wing, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has been to terrorist groups, particularly its India-specific Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), also functioning under the guise of Jamaat ud Dawa, which has been hyperactive in trying to infiltrate the Kashmir Valley across the Line of Control (LoC) in September-October, before the snow set in.
A three-day operation beginning on September 26 in Kralpura, 15 km from Kupwara, in Machil sector, resulted in five Pakistani terrorists being killed. Indian casualties were Lieutenant Sushil Khajuria, one soldier and two policemen, one soldier was injured.
On September 27, the Army captured a terrorist named Nisar Ahmed of LeT, who had an interesting story to tell to the local media at a press conference by Lt. Gen. S.A. Hasnain, GOC Chinar Corps headquartered at Srinagar, a few days later.
On September 30, in an anti-infiltration operation at Burjholi, in the high-altitude area of the dense Pharkian forest of Kupwara, the Army killed another five heavily armed and very well equipped Pakistani terrorists trying to cross over to launch attacks in the Valley. Five Kalashnikovs, three under-barrel grenade launchers, six radio sets, maps, matrix sheets, GPS and other war-like stores — all items at least one each per terrorist — were recovered.
On October 3, one terrorist, most likely part of the same infiltrating group, was killed at Dardpura, 10 km from Kralpura. Another terrorist killed at Pulwama turned out to be Abdul Rehman, aka Rehman Bhai, LeT’s commander for south Kashmir. His counterpart for north Kashmir, Abdullah Uni, was killed a couple of weeks earlier.
Over many questions asked by media at the press conference where Nisar had been brought, he specified in Urdu “mujhe zabardasti bharti kiya (I was recruited by force). Humko Pakistan Army aur agency (ISI) walon ne training di thi aur unhone hi humko yahan bheja..mujhe wapis mat bhejiye, woh mujhe maar denge (Pak Army and agency trained us and they sent us here. Please do not send me back, they will kill me).
Interacting with this analyst, Lt. Gen. Hasnain began by clarifying that there has been no change whatsoever in Pakistan’s Kashmir policy. “A recent achievement of our troops deployed on the LoC in Machil sector was foiling a major infiltration bid in which five militants were killed and one was captured alive. He is Nissar Ahmed, of the LeT, from Karachi, who during the preliminary interrogation revealed that he was initially trained at an LeT facility at Manshera. Pakistan’s military setting up militant infrastructure in its hinterland and PoK, aimed at spreading violence to disrupt peace and harmony in Kashmir, is a part of the overall Kashmir Policy,” he said. The arrested militant, according to the GOC, confirmed that seven members of the group were selected for infiltration into Kashmir through Machil sector. “They were provided with arms, ammunition and all the necessary wherewithal for navigation and communication as well as enough money and foodstuff for their survival and were moved forward to a launch pad in the vicinity of a Pakistan Army post. While infiltrating they had an encounter with our soldiers and during this gunfight Nisar Ahmed fell into a nullah and surrendered after getting surrounded,” the GOC said. Praising Lieutenant Sushil Khajuria for his bravery, he expressed deep regret at the loss of this officer of Army Service Corps doing his infantry attachment with 18 Grenadiers, another soldier and two policemen in the Machil encounter.
Some fresh inputs about changes in the modus operandi of Pak Army/ISI since the killing of Osama bin Laden are that strict control has been imposed on activities of terrorist groups. The ISI has specifically instructed terrorist commanders not to take any unilateral action in the Valley. In one such incident, a group of terrorists was intercepted and arrested by Pak Army in July 2011 and handed over to ISI, which released them after 10 to 12 days. Another step taken to counter J&K government’s surrender policy has been to organise surrenders, which are a farce. Most of the prospective surrenderees are residents of Mohajir camps in PoK, where they have been staying with their families for almost 20 years. Most of the earlier terrorist guides have also settled in these Mohajir camps with their families.
At the Barali terrorist training camp, there are LeT commanders staying with their families. The ISI is keeping a hawk eye over the movement of terrorists living with their families in Mohajir camps. Incentives to Pakistani terrorists of various tanzeems are: LeT cadres `8,000 to `10,000 per month, Jaish e Mohammad cadres `3,000, Hizbul Mujahideen cadres `500 and terrorists of various tanzeems belonging to J&K get approximately `5,000 -per month.
Those living with families get rations also. United Jihad Council chief Syed Salahuddin has been touring various Mohajir camps to boost the sagging morale of terrorists and urging them to reject the J&K government’s surrender policy.
However, it has reportedly had no impact in Mohajir camps and a vast majority of them want to return to J&K to lead a normal life and reject violence.
Another development reported since September 10, 2011, by Press for Peace (PFP), a civil society organisation, from Muzaffarabad, PoK, is that a large number of women protested against the recent activities of some militant groups in Nilam Valley area. The women contacted and informed PFP activists that suspicious non-local persons have been trying to establish camps in Kuthan Peeran, Aathmuqam, Shah Kot, Dudhnial and surrounding villages of Nilam district. The PFP report quoted Mr Arif Shahid, secretary-general of the All-Parties National Alliance (APNA), saying: “Jihadi activities have been restarted during the last few weeks. Most of these activities are concentrated in the Nilam Valley along the LoC. Militants based there in large number have set up camps. The men are not locals, they have long hair and beards. Most do not speak the local language.”
Residents of the Nilam Valley also staged a demonstration on September 17 to protest against the presence of militants carrying out attacks from PoK into J&K. Traders at Athmuqam in Nilam Valley closed their shops for two hours and also held a rally. They are apprehensive that the stepped-up terrorist activity in the area may lead to a collapse of the ceasefire along the LoC and endanger peace which the region has had since 2004. The protesters marched to the office of the deputy commissioner and apprised him of their concern.