Regulars from the Pakistan Army’s 802 Mujahideen unit, based opposite Chakan Da Bagh, and the Lashkar’s Border Action Team are suspected to have carried out the ambush that killed five Indian soldiers in Poonch, police sources said. A sixth soldier was injured, but is out of danger. The attack took place after 1am as people on both sides of the Line of Control were busy with prayers on Shab-e-Qadr, when restrictions are eased to allow worshippers to throng mosques through the night. The slain men were identified as Prem Nath Singh, Shambo Saran, Raghunandan Prasad and Vijay Kumar Ray of 21 Bihar and Manik Kunduk Karbey of 14 Maratha Li. “The nearest village from the site of the gunfight is 1km. The people in the area were busy observing Shab-e-Qadr and informed us later that they heard gunshots in the area,” a police officer said. The Lashkar’s Border Action Team, revived by the militant outfit to inflict casualties on security forces near the LoC, has in recent months planted explosive devices and landmines in the border areas to hamper army movement, the police sources said. In one attack last month, a landmine killed an army porter. “The Border Action Team was very active for several years until it disappeared around 2010. It appears to be back in action for some months now,” an officer said. The latest violence comes after a series of skirmishes along a 120-140km frontage on the western edge of the Line of Control spanning Rajouri-Mendhar-Poonch-Uri-Nowgam. Defence minister A.K. Antony told Parliament that violence has increased this year. He said the number of infiltration attempts had doubled in comparison to the corresponding period of 2012. There have also been 57 ceasefire violations this year, which is 80 per cent more than the same corresponding period. In July and August, he said, the army had killed 19 hardcore militants. The army attributed the increase in the violence to the “frustrations of the terrorists’ tanzeems (units) and the Pakistani Army due to successful elimination” of militants in recent months. The Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), Lt General Vinod Bhatia, was on the “hotline” with his Pakistani counterpart this morning. There is no word yet on whether he has requested a flag meeting. Both governments officially say they do not want the ceasefire on the LoC that began in November 2003 to be unwound because of the violations. But elements in the Indian administration assert that the Nawaz Sharif government and the Pakistan Army are not speaking the same language on engaging with India. Chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “These incidents don’t help efforts to normalise or even improve relations with Pak….”
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:53:48 +0000
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