NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Indian security forces are believed to have achieved some major successes in tightening the country’s border with Pakistan making infiltration of the terrorists and arms and ammunition to the local militants in Kashmir difficult.
The Jaish-e-Mohammed operational chief Mufti Rauf Asghar, who is believed to had coordinated the infiltration of four heavily-armed operatives into India killed at Nagrota encounter on November 19, is learnt to have told his contacts in Kashmir that it was becoming increasingly difficult to supply the Kashmir home-grown terrorists the “items” apparently referring to explosives and weapons.
Mufti Rauf Asghar sent the message to Jaish operatives in Kashmir soon after the gunbattle at Ban toll plaza in Jammu’s Nagrota that led to the elimination of four Pakistani terrorists within hours of crossing the border, sources close to Indian investigating agencies disclosed.
Mufti Asghar is the younger brother of JeM chief and UN designated global terrorist Masood Azhar who is reported to have been under treatment for a life-threatening spine aliment. Asghar is considered the terror group’s de facto chief in his elder brother’s absence and had overseen the infiltration of the four terrorists from Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
The 19 November encounter was a huge setback for the terror group, given how heavily Asghar had invested in their training and infiltration. They were well-armed too and huge quantity of ammunition and explosives including 11 AK-47 rifles, 3 pistols, 29 hand grenades, 6 grenades to be fired from an under barrel grenade launcher and other weapons were seized from the body and the apple-laden truck in which they were headed towards Kashmir.
According to intelligence reports, the infiltration of the four terrorists was part of an effort by Pakistan-based terrorist groups to prepare for a major drive in Jammu and Kashmir. They have become especially active after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The reports said terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is also mobilising cadres from its Chelabandi camp in Muzaffarabad to fresh locations in Neelum Valley across the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan and Hizbul Mujahideen training nearly 400 cadres at a newly constructed facility in the forest area of Oghi in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).
The Jaish, intelligence reports indicate, is not the only one feeling the heat. According to one input, the Al Badr group is exploring ways to infiltrate into India from Bangladesh after security forces tightened the security grid across the LoC in Kashmir.
(Manas Dasgupta)