NEW DELHI: With heightened alert on the western borders and in Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian forces ahead of national elections in the country, the intelligence agencies’ reports to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suggest that there has been a perceptible reduction in terrorist infiltrations.
Activities on part of Pakistan authorities in aiding and abetting infiltration of terrorists from the other side of the fence and also helping them in tunnel construction have reduced, sources in the intelligence agency said on Sunday.
According to the intelligence reports, the change in tactics by the Pakistan Army, Rangers and ISI are indicative of their intent to avoid any backlash or counteroffensive at this juncture, as this would have international and domestic ramifications beyond their control, sources said.
They said that for long, the Pakistani forces were helping and facilitating terrorists in their bid to infiltrate, constructing tunnels and peddling narcotic substances across the borders, particularly in Jammu and in Punjab sectors.
They said, this change in behaviour has been noticed by Indian intelligence agencies for the past six months, as there has been a substantial decrease in terror activities emanating from the Rangers’ border outposts on the Pakistan side.
Sources, quoting intelligence reports, noted that authorities in Pakistan were found involved in aiding terrorists in their infiltration plans, tunnel digging and other activities till August-September last year, as inputs were there that terrorists were using Rangers’ Border Observation Posts as launching pads to enter India.
Intelligence reports in 2022 suggested that terrorists were constructing tunnels in Jammu and Punjab sectors with active support from Pakistani forces. The inputs on the tunnels were gathered following the BSF detected a few of them in 2021.
In June 2022, the BSF found a “small opening” near Chak Faquira border outpost along the international border in J&K’s Samba district and confirmed that the passage was a cross-border tunnel originating from Pakistan. “This tunnel was 150-metre long and originated in Pakistan,” a BSF spokesperson had said, adding that sandbags found inside were being used to strengthen the passage.
DK Boora, the IG of BSF Jammu, said, “This is the fifth tunnel that has been detected in less than one-and-a-half years. This shows the strategy of the Pakistan establishment to create trouble in India.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs has told Parliament that BSF has taken various measures to check the infiltration of the terrorists along the Indo-Pakistan border.
Installing laser walls is one of the integrated measures taken by the BSF. The laser technology developed by BSF has been designed to cover all the shortcomings experienced in the use of laser walls at various places in the past.