Army claims destroying Pak post in LoC assault

The Army on Tuesday claimed to have destroyed a Pakistan Army post in the Naushera sector in Jammu and Kashmir by carrying out fire assaults along the Line of Control (LoC) as part of its “anti-terror operations,” further escalating the tensions between the two countries.

A senior army official said that the assault was carried out recently as Pakistani posts were supporting infiltration into Indian side. Additional Director General Public Information, Maj Gen Ashok Narula, said a video of the strike has been released. But, the video, doesn’t mention of the time and date of the strike.

The claim came two days after the Indian Army killed four militants in an encounter along the LoC in Kashmir’s Naugam sector. While giving details of the operation, Major General Ashok Narula said that this was part of the counter-infiltration operation.

Although Narula didn’t give an exact date for the counter-infiltration operation, he said that it was conducted recently in the Nowshera sector along the LoC. “We take punitive actions around LoC so that infiltration attempts are reduced,” he said, adding, “With the melting of ice and opening of passes, there’s a risk of an increase in infiltration attempts. We want peace in Kashmir, and it’s important that we improve counter-terrorist operation.”

Narula said the 21 May encounter in Kashmir’s Naugam sector during which four militants were killed shows the danger.

“It’s important that we make the counter-terror operations successful,” he said. Narula added that the Pakistan is helping militants infiltrate into the Indian side by engaging in firing from its bunkers and posts along the LoC.

“Pakistan forward posts and bunkers help the terrorist with cover fires to help crossover the Indian side,” he said while urging Pakistan to not engage in such actions. “These actions from Pakistan also affect the villages during these actions,” he added.

Referring to growing tension in the Valley with youth taking an anti-Indian Army stand, Narula said that curbs on infiltration could help bring the Kashmiri youth on the right track. “It is essential to bring down the number of terrorists in Kashmir so that the youth of Kashmir are not adversely affected by terrorists from abroad.”

The raid came in the wake of the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which noted that stepped up militant activity along the line of control (LoC) and the cross border exchange of firing between Indian and Pakistani troops, has deteriorated the security scenario and the activities of militants and separatists remains a challenge.

In past one week government forces have foiled at least two infiltration bids along the LoC in frontier Kupwara area while the militant movement has intensified near the de-facto border between India and Pakistan. The stepped up militant activity has come at a time when the cross border firing has increased between Indian and Pakistani troops in Rajouri and Poonch sectors which has triggered evacuation of hundreds of families. 

In the past few days forces have at least foiled two incidents of infiltration. On Sunday 4 militants and 3 soldiers were killed as forces foiled an infiltration bid from across the border. 

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