NEW DELHI: Amid mounting international pressure to crack down on terror infrastructure within its borders, Pakistan is reported to have shut down several terrorist training camps along the Line of Control (LoC).
“Pakistan has shut down its training facilities belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen operating from POK,” said a source.
However, defence officials are sceptical and said the move could just be an eyewash.
In the past, too, Pakistan had made similar claims but the terror camps were just shifted to other locations, they pointed out.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said there was “no way to verify whether Pakistan has closed down terrorist camps or not”. India will continue to maintain strict vigil on its borders, he added.
Major General SB Asthana, Chief Instructor at the United Service Institution, called it “an exercise by Pakistan to somehow mitigate the possibility of it being put into the ‘Black List’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to be held next week (June 16-21)” in Orlando, Florida.
With its economy in dire straits, Pakistan can ill-afford to be black-listed by FATF. Strategic analyst J K Verma said India’s strategy was to keep up the pressure on Pakistan.
“We must not let our guards down”, said Verma.