Amid an ongoing massive search operation to track down terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, an infiltration bid was foiled in the International Border (IB) at Khour in the Akhnoor sector in Jammu district. The White Knight Corps of the Indian Army informed that the suspected movement of four terrorists was detected through surveillance devices on the intervening night of December 22 and December 23.
The search operation started following the killing of four Army soldiers by terrorists on Thursday in the forest area of Dera ki Gali in the Rajouri sector. Three others were also injured in the encounter. The National Investigation Agency team and the General Officer Commanding, XVI Corps, visited Ground Zero on Friday to review the situation.
The attack took place on Thursday at 3:45 pm when two army vehicles carrying personnel to the site of a cordon-and-search operation came under attack. Sources indicate that Approximately 25 to 30 Pakistani terrorists are hiding in the Poonch and Rajouri regions, specifically trained by Pakistan and potentially assisted by China.
Responded to the ‘unfortunate’ terrorist attack, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday stated that Pakistan has been doing such things to disturb the peace in the valley. But it’s all in vain, as “Terrorism is on its deathbed in Kashmir”.
According to top defense sources, Pakistan and China are collaborating to revive terrorist activity in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir in a bid to pressure the Indian Army into redeploying troops from the Ladakh border back to Kashmir. Notably, this suspicion stems from India’s deployment of the Rashtriya Rifles, a specialized counterinsurgency force, from Poonch to Ladakh in 2020.
Pakistan has since infiltrated 25-30 terrorists into Poonch’s forested areas, aiming to launch attacks on security forces and provoke responses. While China, frustrated by India’s heightened troop presence in Ladakh following the 2020 border stand-off in Galwan, is seeking to divert Indian resources back to Kashmir.
Defense expert Col Manoj Kumar said the increasing frequency of terror attacks in Poonch-Rajouri and the Army’s battle to flush out terrorists from wooded areas reminded him of Operation Sarp Vinash of 2003. He said that the terrorists were using similar hideouts and bases when Sarp Vinash happened. “Around 15,000 troops were deployed and 65 terrorists were killed in the operation.”
It is believed that the responsibility for these attacks lies with a terrorist organization known as PAFF (People’s Anti-Fascist Front), affiliated with the terrorist Masood Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammed, a banned outfit by the Indian Home Ministry since January. In the last two years alone, 34 soldiers have been martyred in Poonch and Rajouri, with 19 losing their lives in 2023.
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