Nearly two dozen terrorists have sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir from across the border in the last 10 days, according to latest intelligence inputs. Hunt is on to track these terror operatives mostly belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terror outfits, based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Senior government sources said that the successful infiltration bids in J&K in May have come after a gap of three months. The latest figures are an indication that it may not be a quiet summer in the Valley yet again this year. Corresponding figures of infiltration in J&K last year show that 54 terrorists had crossed over in May.
The intelligence reports, shared with the Union home ministry, show the presence of at least a dozen ‘’active’’ camps of the LeT operating in PoK. The report said that the LeT and HM are making desperate attempts to lure ‘’local’’ Kashmiri youth, by offering them huge sums of money, to act as “guides’’ for the terrorists being pushed into the Valley. It said that the Hizbul Mujahideen is offering `1 to `1.5 lakhs to disgruntled Kashmiri youth and ex-militants to recruit them as ‘’guides’’.
“The payments and incentives offered by the HM has increased for both volunteers and guides. Earlier the group used to pay around `25,000 to the guides but now the offer has been increased almost four times,” said the report.
A government official, however, said that the desperate tactics of the HM and other terror groups has come in the wake of a noticeable shift in the Valley where people are shunning violence and even the local disgruntled youth are not keen to take such risks for the amount they were being offered. “The payments are insufficient and the risk is high,” the official said.
While 11 terrorists had infiltrated into JK in January this year, the months of February, March and April had witnessed a lull. According to official figures, 62, 3, 47, and 46 terrorists had entered JK from across the border in the first four months in 2010.