M A I N   N E W S

Pak pushing in Al-Qaida men, says Army Chief
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 11
Army chief Gen N.C. Vij today said Pakistan was pushing in terrorists of the Al-Qaida into India from its nearly 120 launching pads established near the Line of Control (LoC) and had reactivated the 85 terrorist training camps cosmetically shut following India’s peace initiative.

General Vij, who was interacting with mediapersons here for the first time after visiting some forward positions, said thousands of terrorists were waiting across the border in Pakistan for being pushed in into India. About 80 per cent of these terrorists were of foreign origin as Pakistani agencies were finding it difficult to recruit the youth from here in its terror network, he said.

He said contrary to the promises and pronouncements by Pakistan for peace, there was no change of heart as its intentions were not clear. Pakistan had doubled its efforts to intensify terrorism in India and the ISI was trying to push in as many terrorists as possible, the Army chief said.

He said Pakistan had become the epicentre of terrorism, which was posing a threat to peace in the subcontinent. He said that as a camouflage, Pakistan had changed its pattern of terror camps by merging these into local villages or army units so that these could not be identified.

General Vij said operations against terrorism would be intensified and the success rate in eliminating terrorists had risen sharply. A total of 28 infiltration bids were foiled last month, in which 78 terrorists were killed, he added. The all-time high figure was achieved last month, when 211 terrorists were eliminated, he stated.

He said this month, six infiltration bids were foiled so far, in which 61 terrorists were killed. With this, the trend of security forces having the upper hand had been set, he stated. The attack on soft targets by terrorists was an indication of their frustration, he added.

He said there was so much of demoralisation among the Pakistani troops that one of its units on the border with Kargil wanted to be relieved from the area. Such signals sent to their headquarters were intercepted by the Indian Army, he said. Between 15,000 and 20,000 messages being exchanged between terrorists and their mentors in Pakistan were being intercepted by the Army every month, he added.

The Army chief said the Army had initiated a multi-tiered system to check infiltration. These included fencing of the 480-km border with Pakistan, making operations more effective in the hinterland, enhancing of surveillance equipment and increasing interaction with the local population, he explained.

He said several local youths had been rescued from terrorists, who had forcibly recruited them in their network. This was possible because the local residents had realised that they were being used by terrorists and had started coming forward to provide information about such recruitment camps, he stated.

Replying to questions about the dispute over Arunachal between India and China, General Vij said China had removed Arunachal Pradesh from its website. The relations between the two countries were cordial and had improved with the recent visits of the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, he asserted.

When pointed out that certain parties were demanding the removal of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chairman of the unified command of the Army, the police and intelligence agencies, General Vij said the unified command was working effectively and results were visible on the ground.

As an elected leader, the Chief Minister was rightfully there to head the unified command, he stated. He said demining of the borders would be completed by December next.