Militant revealed ISI attempt to push mercenaries through PoK: J&K cops

An arrested militant revealed during interrogation that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is making a desperate bid to push foreign mercenaries into India from Pak-occupied Kashmir to gain support from the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police Kuldeep Khuda said on Tuesday.

Mohammed Iqbal, who was arrested by a special task force team of the Jammu and Kashmir police following an encounter in Surakote area of Poonch district on Sunday night, confessed that ISI was planning to send foreign militants across, Khuda said.

The ISI were making use of the people of Poonch and Rajouri districts who had migrated to PoK during the 1965 and 1975 wars, Khuda said, Such migrants' children were being forcibly sent to the Indian side for three to four months to carry out subversive activities in the two border districts, Iqbal had revealed, the IGP added.

Khuda said some recently intercepted messages transmitted among foreign militants corroborated that they were in a highly demoralised state. Which was why the ISI was so worried.

Most militants were planning to go back to PoK in view of mounting pressure from the security forces in the twin border districts, he claimed, adding that a meticulously planned strategy was on the anvil to weed out militants in the area.

Night patrolling along the vulnerable areas had been intensified and checkposts have been set up in affected areas, he said. Security forces had gunned down 62 militants during the first half of the current year in Poonch and Rajouri districts, he said.