5 soldiers killed in terror attacks at Indo-Pak border in last 3 yrs: Govt

Five soldiers lost their lives in terror attacks along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years, the Home Ministry said on Tuesday.

In response to a question, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai submitted data on terror attacks along the border that showed four soldiers were killed at the Line of Control (LoC) in 2021 while one soldier was killed at the LoC in 2022. No killings were reported in 2023.

“The government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, including along the Indo-Pak border, and the approach of the government is to dismantle the terror ecosystem,” he said.

Citing measures taken by the government to control terror activities, Rai said close and effective coordination had been ensured between intelligence and security agencies at the Centre and the state levels on all terrorism-related matters.

Multi Agency Centre has been strengthened to function on a 24x7 basis for real-time collation and sharing of intelligence on terror-related matters with other intelligence agencies and states, and ensure seamless flow of information between state and central agencies, he added.

In addition, special forces are being raised by the states and Union territories to deal with terror incidents while the Central Armed Police Forces and the National Security Guard have also been stationed at different locations to assist the states in dealing with such incidents, Rai said.

“There is a multi-pronged approach of the border guarding forces to prevent terrorist infiltration by way of ensuring round-the-clock domination of the borders, regular patrolling, carrying out anti-tunnelling exercises, laying nakas and manning observation posts all along the international border,” the minister said.

A technological solution in the form of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System has been implemented in vulnerable border areas, NIA (National Investigation Agency) established for investigation of terror-related cases, he added.

Other steps taken by the government include increased border vigilance, capacity building by border guarding forces, development of infrastructure such as fencing, regular review and strengthening of vulnerable border posts by deploying additional manpower, Rai said.