The Samba district, situated along the international border with Pakistan in Jammu division, has become a significant point of entry for terrorists this year, leading to a surge in violence and high-casualty attacks across the region.
Groups of infiltrators have been crossing over from the northern part of Samba district, subsequently spreading into nearby Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, Doda, and Kishtwar districts. They have been aided by other groups that had previously infiltrated through the Line of Control (LoC) in the Rajouri-Poonch range.
Officials suspect that these infiltrators may have identified and exploited vulnerabilities in the high-security border fence, possibly with foreign technological assistance, enabling them to dig tunnels and breach the multilayered security. The detection of several such tunnels by the Border Security Force (BSF) last year supports this hypothesis.
In the past three months alone, the Jammu division has witnessed over 15 militancy-related incidents, resulting in the deaths of 11 armed forces personnel, five infiltrators, and nine pilgrims, with 55 others injured across seven of its 10 districts.
The infiltrators' strategy appears to involve engaging across the LoC and IB in Jammu, keeping security forces occupied and potentially distracting them from cross-border actions elsewhere.
Upon successful infiltration, these groups traverse vast, unpatrolled tracts of land and mountains, areas that had been relatively peaceful for over two decades, leading to a thinning out of security forces to address challenges in Kashmir and Ladakh.
Currently, out of the estimated 70-80 foreign infiltrators active in Jammu and Kashmir, 55-60 are operating in small groups within the Jammu region, primarily in Kishtwar-Doda and Basantgarh areas.
Officials emphasize that there is no single "infiltration route," but rather vulnerabilities along the border that are exploited. Infiltrators have also re-established connections with old networks that used to aid militants in the past.
While infiltrations in Kashmir have traditionally occurred through Kupwara and Baramulla, with potential attempts from Bandipora, there is currently no significant movement from north to south Kashmir, contributing to the relative peace in Srinagar. However, there are reports suggesting that some foreign militants may have crossed over from Rajouri-Poonch to Shopian and Kulgam in southern Kashmir.
