New Delhi, November 13
A month after the operations ended in the Keran sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the government has made it clear that it was not ready to accept the gaps in two different narratives on the incident.

In what appears to be a fight between two powerful wings of government, the narratives of the Indian Army and that of the Indian intelligence agencies on the Keran incident do not match. At a high level review meeting on November 1, discussions revolved around management of borders, arrangement to guard the borders and matters of surveillance and intelligence gathering. The Keran operations was called off on October 8. Sources said, at the meeting, there was no dispute whether or not there was an infiltration by the militants from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). But the intensity, intent and nature of the infiltration was discussed and there was a gap in the narratives provided by the two sides.

The Ministry of Defence has backed the Indian Army operations before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and other forums. But within the government, the difference of opinion has cropped up after the civilian agencies, which function under the Ministry of Home Affairs, had different reports to narrate. The figure of 30-40 intruders given by the Army has been contested by the intelligence agencies, who have said that the number was lower.

But the claim has been contested by the MoD and the Army on the grounds that agencies are not based at the LoC. Hence, they would not have first-hand knowledge of the incident.The place where the operations took place is not even inhabited. Therefore, there would be little chance of a local informer being present.

The Army had evaluated it as a normal infiltration bid. However, the intelligence agencies assess that the infiltrators had no intention of trying to cross the fence but were looking to attack and ambush the Army men that would patrol the area - that is beyond the fence.

The other sore point is the number of days required to flush out the militants. At the meeting, it was suggested that the Army should fortify the “reception area” to trap militants who sneak in despite the layered deployment of forces.

What army says

30-40 intruders were present

It was a normal infiltration bid