Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Aug 24: Army today said that it is gradually replacing the entire fence along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir and install state of art surveillance system along it so that it withstands vagaries of weather and makes counter-infiltration grid more robust.
Outgoing General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 15 Corps, Lt General Subrata Saha, who is likely to be new Director General Military Operations, in an exclusive interview to Excelsior, said that the LoC fence that was constructed after 2003 ceasefire between India and Pakistan required qualitative improvement.
“As we point to the future, we are looking into the future. We are looking for much better technology because the current fence has lived for 10 years. Although, it is replaced at places every year but then it requires a qualitative improvement. Now that is going to be done. We are going for much more improved fence. We will try to replace entire fence. We will look into areas which need it earlier”, said the GOC.
The Corps Commander said that new surveillance equipment will be also installed along the fence to make it smart. “Important thing is we are looking at some technological advances that have taken place to ensure that the fence is able to better withstand the vagaries of weather that we have here especially in Kashmir. It is something we have tried last year, designed changes to make it more effective….and then of course we will have the equipment that makes fence a little more smart… it will be integrated with the fence itself. We are improving it and these are the major changes we are looking at”, he added.
Lt General Saha said that at places where terrain is difficult there are multiple layers of fence to counter the infiltration. “The terrain is difficult. No doubt about it. We have learnt from the experiences of the past. And, because of this, we have gone in for now multiple tiers. Even, if they (infiltrators) succeed in going through one, but between the second or third, they are neutralized. When we say multiple tiers, in certain examples, the fence may be ahead, we also have some good strong terrain features in the depth. We are taking the advantage of terrain through the multiple tiers. In some specific areas, where the terrain demands, we have got multiple fences also. It has helped”, he said.
The GOC said that infiltration attempts this year have increased and in 11 attempts the army has neutralized 19 infiltrators so far. “This year – 2015 – if you see: first of all there was a late snowfall. Because of late snowfall, the attempts started late and within this short span of time, the number of attempts that have been made are definitely higher than previous years. There were 11 attempts in which 19 terrorists have been eliminated. Likewise there is an increase in the movement that we noticed…if we go by the numbers they are marginally higher than the assessments we had put on in the previous years. Percentage is marginally high”, he said.
Lt General Saha said that militants are making more attempts after the improvement in security situation in Kashmir. “It is obviously linked to the fact that the improving security situation is something that perhaps they are unable to reconcile with”, he added.
The GOC credited the successes in foiling the infiltration along the LoC in Kashmir to intelligence grid. “First of all, the first most important thing that we have been able to successfully achieve is the efforts of all the intelligence agencies have become very well coordinated. They have become very well synchronized and almost real time sharing has taken place now. That is something we have been able to achieve and credit goes to all the agencies that are involved”, he added.
The Corps Commander said that changes have been made in the surveillance system along the fence and it has more or less now become fool proof. “We made some good changes in the surveillance grid and we have been able to achieve more or less a full proof surveillance over the complete area. And apart from that, of course coming to the dispositions, we were able to make some changes in the dispositions to be sure that multiple tiers have been added now and the terrain is giving us now advantage. The terrain advantages have been exploited”, he added.
Lt General said that the soldiers on the ground are doing commendable job and they have foiled every attempt and neutralized the infiltrators. “And then, at the end of the day I think most important thing is, the credit goes to the soldiers who are deployed on the ground for their alertness. It is a very big success that every attempt has been foiled and they have been able to succeed in neutralizing terrorists who are trying to infiltrate. I think, all in all, the efforts that have gone in at all levels have ensured a much more robust surveillance grid”, he added.
The GOC said that the training camps and launch pads across the LoC in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) are active and strong counter infiltration grid is compelling them for repeated attempts. “By our estimates, the numbers continued to be what they were and all of them are confirmed to be active. And, as we speak all the launch pads close to LoC are active at this stage. The strong counter infiltration grid is compelling repeated attempts and hence the number of attempts are increasing. There have been 11 attempts and 19 terrorists have been eliminated”, he added.
Lt General Saha said that the counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir valley are mostly intelligence driven. “Even in the hinterland, we have been able to take the operations, make it more intelligence driven in the normal circumstances. Of course sometimes, we have to go for more area domination operations like for example when the Darbar comes back from Jammu. We have to devote lot of time to make sure that the there is good domination of the area. Likewise, during the Amarnath Yatra, then quite recently when we had series of incidents in Sopore, we had to increase the domination operations quite a bit. So apart from these occasions, rest of the time we focus much more on intelligence based operations and that is again because of the synergy amongst various people”, he added.
The GOC said that the troops at the ground level have been sensitized and they ensure that all Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) are followed to ensure minimum collateral damage. “First of all, it is because; again the credit goes to commanders at all levels that they are ensuring the SOPs are being abided by strictly. And, also colossal efforts are being put in to sensitize the troops on how they have to operate over here because they have to be sensitive to the circumstances in which they operate. The training that is important and in the Core Battle School, the emphasize is on it. I personally address very periodically every unit that comes into Kashmir trying to emphasize these points. So Perhaps it is because of multiple lines of efforts that have been put in, to be sure that collateral damage is bare minimum and again we go strictly by the rules of engagement that unless and until we are certain that the person is terrorist we will not engage and we will give him opportunity (of surrendering) through challenging”, he said.
Lt General Saha said that over the years army has learnt how to deal with the counter-insurgency in the built up areas and troops are regularly sensitized. “This is definitely a different form of warfare. But then this is not new for us. We have gone through this process now from quite some time. Drills have got evolved, SOPs have got evolved. People have learnt the techniques, tactics, procedures that have to be adopted in such circumstances and first of all before a person gets inducted in a unit to carry out operations, he is going through the training capsule in the Core Battle School which over a time has gathered information, experience and expertise in training the people. Then beyond that, once they go and they are deployed in a respective unit and from there in company operating bases, over a period of time there is fair amount of institutional memory which has been created so that is how it has been passed down. And, likewise from here, from the field, we are sharing our experiences with the training command. We are sharing our experiences with the training institutions so that is how a system is built. So likewise what happens is, many of us get invited from here by training institutes. So like this, there is a fair amount of effort which is being put in to be sure that we don’t make mistakes that have been there in the past and we try to take lessons. We have been working virtually with no collateral damage and I am sure with the effort that is going, this trend will continue”, he added.
The GOC said that the religious radicalization and failures in personal and academic life are some of the reasons for Kashmiri boys joining militancy. “You see there are several reasons for this or the motives. Of course, if you see the statistics and some studies that we carried out. Firstly, the reason that has come out is of course religious radicalization. Second, in some cases the frustration due to, may be some personal failure in the life; may be due to some academic failure in life. In some cases, we are seeing people running away from homes may be because of some personal or family fight at home. And in some cases, we are also noticing the desire to gain some element of recognition or status in the neighborhood by picking up the arms. So those are the range of reasons for which we see this trend”, he said.
Lt General Saha attributed the local recruitment by the militant organization to the failure on their part to infiltrate their cadres from across the LOC due to robust infiltration grid. “It could well be attributed to the fact that since they have not succeeded in infiltrating, so the indirect means are being used to build up the numbers. They are trying to get local young boys as they feel they would get advantage of being locals by way of inherit protection, the local boy would enjoy as compared to a foreign terrorist”, he added.
The GOC said that the number of locals joining militant ranks is on rise and around 40 of them joined so far this year. “In 2015, the figures of youngsters joining militant ranks is somewhere between 30 and 40. Compared to 2014, it was 64. It is almost at par with last year. It is higher than 2013 and 2012”, he added.
The Corps Commander said as 30-40 youth joined the militancy this year, 38 also came back after fleeing their homes which is an encouraging sign. “But the important point is, if 30 or 40 have joined, 38 have come back also this year. So, I think that is important information. I want to highlight this. Because, the moment a youngster is joining, his parents are informing. We are coming to know instantaneously. In some cases, even if they have gone to Jammu without telling their parents, we come to know. And, once they have come back, again we come to know they have come back. The credit must go to their parents and also the credit must go to Jammu Kashmir Police. And wherever possible, we are assisting them in this effort and I think this is a very good sign because if the parents want their children to come back, from a society perspective, it is a very positive point”, he added.
The GOC said that the trend of local youth joining militancy can be arrested by engaging them. “The important thing is to engage with them to be sure that some kind of positive orientation is built and when I say engage; obviously engage is complimented by education, which is complimented by empowerment and finally opportunities for employment. If this sort of a positive orientation is there, by and large, across Colleges and senior school students, there is a lot of hope, there is a lot of aspirations, there is a lot of talent which is here. And only thing which is inadequate is the opportunities. And if the right opportunities are given, I am very hopeful, I am very positive that this trend can be easily curbed”, he added.
The GOC suggested that better education and employment opportunity need to be provided to the local youth and said that army is doing it bit in this direction. “First of all we need to have better opportunities for education and employment. From the army side, we have tried to bring in as many as vacancies possible here. Whether it is for the Regular army or whether it is for Territorial Army. Then likewise, we have focused all our tours, no long they are going for tourism purposes, they are going very specifically for education and employment; to go and see where they can pursue higher education, to go and see where do they have employment opportunities. So we are taking boys and girls from engineering colleges for almost now three or four tours with this. There is plan of tour for Medical College in the months of October and November. Boys from senior schools, from different parts have gone to focused institutions like to Pune, where we have engineering and medical hub. Likewise, we have taken them to Hyderabad where they have been taken to brilliant academic hubs of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Taj Falaknuma, Amazon.com. So, from our side we are doing our best. Engagement wise, in 2014-15 financial year, we had 79 different sports leagues in different parts of Kashmir all over. This year I think we already conducted 6 sports leagues. It is helping, it is bringing out talent and it is getting a positive orientation but yes a lot more needs to be done”, he added.
The GOC said that he has seen lot of hope among Kashmiri youngsters and they need a right environment. “We have held from the beginning of this year series of talent hunt competitions, virtually in every part of the Kashmir and then we had a final one. I must have seen at least 4000-5000 paintings and drawings; each and every drawing is reflecting hope, aspiration and talent. When we held this education seminar in the lawns of Chashma Shahi and when I listened to the questions the students asked, again there is tremendous hope in all of that. Then when we see the results in our Army goodwill schools and the academic performances, given the right environment, they are doing extremely well. So, with all this put together, it is just ensuring right environment is there for the people and youth of this place to get what they deserve”, he added.
The Corps commander said that the militants are misusing the social media to influence the youngsters. “The more we see proliferation of social media, obviously there would be misuse of social media. And, this is an instance of misuse of social media. Quite often, as assessed, this is a means which is used to show these people in a light which makes it more attractive to other youngsters. Now, if you go by the statics compared to last year with this year, it has not made any impact”, he added.
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