This Article is From Sep 04, 2009

Indian Army chief's warning to Pakistan

New Delhi:

The Line of Control(LoC) is active again after months of lying low as the Pakistani army has revived its attempts to push in more militants into Jammu and Kashmir.

Two days ago, a soldier was killed in firing by Pakistani army in the Poonch sector and five infiltrators were killed in the Gurez area earlier this week prompting Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor to warn Pakistan in an unusually strong language.

Now, the Army chief General Deepak Kapoor has sent out a tough message -- India will retaliate if this keeps on happening.

"If  ceasefire violation is not stopped, we will be forced to take retaliatory action. We normally observe restraint but if this does not stop, we will have to think of retaliatory action," the General said.

The Army believes that Pakistan is desperate to push in as many militants as possible before fresh snow blocks the high mountain passes two months later:

  • In July and August 2009 there have been 10-15 infiltration attempts -- up from 7-8 in July and August last year
  • At least 17 militant camps have been reactivated in PoK over the last two months
  • 400 militants believed to be waiting in these camps to infiltrate
  • 22 truce violations since January

Troops in J&K are now on maximum alert to prevent a spurt in infiltration that is likely to take place in coming weeks.

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