For nearly two weeks now, the Indian army is reportedly engaged in a grim battle to fight out the militants on the Line of Control (LoC), in the Keran sector of Kupwara district. The Indian military claims it killed 15 militants in the first face off, and subsequently seven more were killed in two separate encounters. The bodies of the killed militants were not shown, and reporters were told that they were not allowed to retrieve them as “Pakistani forces continued to fire”. If the Indian army is to be believed, it is the biggest ever “infiltration” bid from the Pakistani side in the recent times. A group of 55 militants had tried to infiltrate, they say. This hide and seek has been going on since September 23, and the Indian military is now caught in a piquant situation.
[quote]Reports in Indian media suggest at least three Indian posts in Keran sector had been “occupied by Pakistani regulars” [/quote]
Infiltration along the LoC is not a new phenomenon. The common refrain in the Indian establishment is that they enjoy tacit support from Pakistan’s security apparatus, which of course is denied by Islamabad. This time, however, the Indian army is in the dock. For the last one week, the Indian media is reporting something different from Keran. The reports published in several print and web newspapers and discussed continuously on the more “vibrant” TV channels in India, suggest that at least three posts had been “occupied” by Pakistani regulars in Keran sector and hence the offensive by the Indian army. This came as a huge embracement for the Indian military, which is deployed in strength not only in the hinterland in Kashmir but also along the borders. Since the reports appeared in media, the Indian army has been in denial, but they said Pakistan’s “Border Action Team” was mixing with the militants. Perturbed over the reports, the Srinagar based Commander of 15 Corps Lt Gen Gurmit Singh told a hurriedly called news conference that “it was not pure infiltration. There were some special troops and this is not the trend we have seen in the past”. He did clarify that it was difficult to say if the Pakistani army was directly involved, but “there are definite indications that special troops were part of it”.
[quote]The top military commander in North India, Lt Gen Sanjay Chachra, has been camping in Srinagar for some days[/quote]
Security experts are not convinced by the arguments put forth by the Indian army, and the big question being raised here is, if it is infiltration (which they say it is not purely so), where are the bodies of the militants and why was it followed by this standoff? The issue also echoed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, which is currently in session. And the members demanded answers to these “critical questions”. For over two weeks now, the “battle along the LoC is on” and Indian army sources have told reporters they were gearing up for the final assault. In fact, the top military commander in North India, Lt Gen Sanjay Chachra, has been camping in Srinagar for some days. The Indian military has certainly been on the back foot so far, as its “capability” to defend the borders has come under serious discussion. “If it is true that Pakistanis captured our posts, then it is nothing less than shameful,” said a top security expert, wishing not to be named. “If they have killed only seven militants, then it is not a big operation. Why is so much attention being paid?”
On the other hand, Pakistan has denied any involvement in any infiltration, thus making it a mysterious case. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir was upset over the way the media projected it. “Pakistan bashing has become a favorite past time for the Indian media,” he told reporters during a visit to the Hyderabad city. “Fortunately that is not the case with Pakistani media. Our media doesn’t extensively report negatively about India. In India some of them have made a good business out of it. It certainly does not help our relationship.”
Whatever the reality on the ground, this face off has further dented the prospects of a forward movement in relations on both sides. Many people linked it to the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif in New York, and even recalled how then Pakistani army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf had planned Kargil while then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was trying to make peace with Nawaz Sharif.
The truth may not come out soon, and the tension along the LoC means the chances of a meeting between directors general of military operations that emerged as the only decision at the New York meeting are now bleak. There is trust deficit on both sides now, and both the prime ministers are under pressure, for different reasons.
The author is a journalist based in Srinagar
Why do you present it as if what the Pakistan Military say can be believed ? Hark back to 1999 when Indian army / media were again highlighting the Kargil incursion. All one has to do is refer to back to media reports then to see how Pakistan military were indignantly refuting that it was them and instead claimed that it was part of the Kashmiri uprising with only “freedom fighters ” involved. We all know what unravelled subsequently and how embarrassing it was for Pakistani when bodies of Pakistani regular soldiers complete with army identification numbers were displayed for all the world to see the truth. More recently Pakistani Military kept asserting that Osama Bin Laden was repeatedly asserting that he was not on Pakistani soil only to be abruptly shown up as liars by the U.S. These are only two incidents – in such a situation, what credibility has Pakistan when it refutes anything these days ? They really need to do better than just get indignant