At least 10,000 mujahideen are waiting to cross over into India and wage war and spread terror. Vicky Nanjappa reports The killing of two Indian soldiers at the Line of Control in Kashmir by the Pakistan army has raised concerns of infiltration by extremists. The military intelligence has directed the stepping up of a vigil along the border areas as they suspect that this unprovoked incident was yet another attempt by the Pakistan establishment to push in extremists into India.
"It is an infiltration attempt by the Pakistan army," said Rajesh Kalia, the spokesperson for the Indian Army. "It is an attempt supported by the Pakistan army."
Tuesday's incident brings back memories of 1999 when Islamists from Pakistan occupied Kargil after a surprise operation. This episode is an indicator that there is a desperate attempt to push infiltrators into India from across the border. There has been an escalation of violence in the border areas over the past couple of weeks.
According to the Intelligence Bureau, such incidents cause a distraction. As India focuses on combating Pakistan forces, extremists try to infiltrate.
While most Pakistani infiltrators enter Kashmir and fight along with the Lashkar-e-Tayiba there are a good number who manage to spread to other parts of the country, officials added.
India has been facing an issue of infiltration for several years now. Recently, it was found that a 400-metre long tunnel along the India-Pakistan border in the Samba district was being used for infiltration. There were
oxygen pipes found in the tunnel and work on the same had been going on for quite sometime.