As vigil along LoC gets tight, terrorists move towards International Border to sneak in

New Delhi, Dec 17: Over the past year, there has been a strategy shift by terrorists infiltrating into India. While the Line of Control has seen a large number of infiltrations taking place, officials have now sounded the Union Home Ministry about terrorists coming in through the International Border as well in large numbers.

The questioning of half a dozen over ground workers of the Jaish-e-Mohammad has revealed that terrorists are increasingly moving towards the International Border in a bid to infiltrate into India.

The National Investigation Agency, which has prepared a report in this regards said that on the basis of the interrogation of the OWGs, it was learnt that terrorists had been picked up from the Bei Nullah in the Samba Sector. It was also learnt that the Jaish team that had carried out the Nagrota attack in 2016 had in fact infiltrated through the IB.

Further the NIA also learnt that a group had entered through the Jhajjar Kotli. While some of them were neutralised, the others were taken away to the Tral area.

The NIA pointed out to the Home Ministry several terrorists had been picked up from the Jammu area. This is a cause for concern and immediate steps need to be taken in a bid to prevent further infiltrations through the newer routes, the NIA also said.

The NIA says that the newer routes are not just being used by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. Phone intercepts that the NIA had picked up and studied also pointed towards the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as well. It was also found that some OWGs of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba had aided Jaish terrorists who infiltrated through the IB. They were moved to the Valley from Jammu, the NIA also found.

The report by the NIA comes just a few months after the Intelligence Bureau had sounded an alert about the infiltrations through the International Border. An IB official tells OneIndia that with the vigil being upped along the LoC and the infiltration points busted over the past year, terrorists have been moving towards the IB in a bid to cross over into India.

It is a well oiled machinery that works in these areas. The security forces have found tunnels which have been used to cross over from Pakistan to India. Officials also say that the so far at least 40 infiltrations have been reported through the newer routes.

The Home Ministry on its part would study the report and call for a meeting of various agencies including the Border Security Force.