Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 6: Although infiltration is at an all-time low, Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi warned on Friday that there are currently 200 terrorists staged across the border ready to launch attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the ceasefire along the Indo-Pak border has been working good since the February 2021 deal. He also claimed that the number of trained terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir is decreasing with each passing year, citing the elimination of 21 foreign terrorists so far this year due to a lack of local shelter and support.
“The number of terrorists staged across the Indo-Pak border are approximately 200. They are waiting across (LoC) to be launched to this side,” Dwivedi said.
“We have made sure that all reserve troops were put in the second tier of defence so that no infiltration takes place,” he added.
Infiltration occurs not just through hilly areas and woodlands, but also through the International Border via Jammu, Punjab, and Nepal, according to him.
“Our aim is to identify these people and neutralize them at the earliest possible time”, he further said.
The Army commander indicated that there are 40 to 50 local terrorists now operating in the hinterland besides foreign terrorists, whose number cannot be estimated. Local terrorists who were neutralised, according to Dwivedi, were poorly trained and armed with only pistols. He expressed concern about radicalisation, saying that youths are increasingly being recruited and that this is a cause for concern for everyone.
