Twenty-five successful infiltration attempts on the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir have been reported in June this year, according to latest government figures. Fifty-four infiltration bids have occurred in June alone — a five-time rise since last year where only 11 infiltration attempts were reported in the corresponding period.
While some militants have been gunned down by security forces, hunt is on to nab others who may have entered the Valley, a top government official. The rise in infiltration bids this summer clearly shows that Pakistan based terror outfits are pushing terrorists to disturb the prevailing peace in the Valley, the official added. So far this year, 38 successful infiltration bids have taken place of 103 attempts while entire last year there were 247 infiltration attempts.
“There are training camps of terrorist outfits in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. This summer, these groups have tried to push as many militants to make up for their dwindling numbers in the Valley,” an official said. Estimates with the Union home ministry which have been shared with the J&K government earlier this year show that 800 to 1,000 militants are waiting to infiltrate at any given point in time.
According to MHA, 42 training camps with about 2,500 militants are operating across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. While 17 militant camps are functioning in Pakistan, there are 25 such camps in PoK.
Official figures also peg the number of militants in the Valley at around 350 belonging to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, JeM, HuJI while the Hizbul Mujahideen and local militants are active in the Valley using the support of overground workers.
A senior security official said militants are continuing to work towards recruiting local youth in certain areas of the state even as terror funding in the Valley remains one of the biggest security concerns for the government. The unearthing of a tunnel along the Indo-Pak border in Samba district also gives fresh evidence of the sustained efforts from across the border to infiltrate terrorists into the Valley, the official pointed out.