Spurt in infiltration attempts: Army chief - India Times

NEW DELHI: Infiltration attempts across the Line of Control continue unabated, with Pakistan yet to do anything concrete to dismantle the anti- India terror infrastructure operating from its soil.

Army chief General V K Singh on Monday said the number of infiltration attempts had registered a major jump in recent months but his force had managed to foil a majority of them.

"In the last two months, we have had approximately 20-25 infiltration attempts and the total number of terrorists killed during this period has been about 35-40," said Gen Singh, speaking on the sidelines of a function here.

Asked about reports that Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has been visiting terror camps along the LoC with Pakistan army and ISI officials, Gen Singh said, "Salahuddin is on the other side... We are not worried with whom he goes around. If he tries to infiltrate, he will also be dealt in the same way his accomplices have been dealt with."

The Army has evolved a strategy under which even if somebody manages to infiltrate across the LoC into Indian territory, "he gets killed later on" in the hinterland.

"We have controlled infiltration to a large extent. In the last two months, there have been many attempts to infiltrate and we have achieved a lot of success in this regard," he added.

This comes soon after defence minister A K Antony said the international community must put pressure on Pakistan to ensure it dismantles the 44 terror training camps operating on its soil against India.

Since January this year, over 300 terrorists have attempted to infiltrate into J&K. The Army, on its part, has adopted a robust counter-infiltration strategy all along the LoC, with "an appropriate mix of technology and human resources" to check infiltrators.