New Delhi:

About 60 per cent of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir last year were of Pakistani origin, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said today as he briefed media on the situation at the Line of Control (LoC). He also said about 80 per cent of terrorists who remain in J&K are Pakistanis.

“The situation (in Jammu and Kashmir) is firmly under control. On the Line of Control, the ceasefire which has been effective since February 2021 is holding on. However, terror infrastructure across remains intact,” Gen Dwivedi, who has vast operational experience along the frontiers with Pakistan and China, told reporters.

Gen Dwivedi said the infiltration attempts are also continuing, including from the International Border (IB) sector, along with drone attempts to smuggle warlike stores and narcotics.

He also said terrorist activities have increased in North Kashmir and the Doda-Kishtwar belt in recent months, but assured the overall violence parameters are “under control”.

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“We witnessed more than five lakh pilgrims during Amarnath Yatra this time and the peaceful conduct of elections (Lok Sabha and Assembly) are indicators of a positive change. The theme of terrorism to tourism is gradually taking shape,” Gen Dwivedi, who assumed charge as the 30th Chief of the Army Staff in June last year, said.

Army Chief On LAC Situation

The overall situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is “stable” but “sensitive”, Gen Dwivedi said, weeks after Indian and Chinese militaries disengaged from the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.

“Patrolling and grazing in traditional areas has started in Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh,” he said.

He also said the Army is focusing on boosting border infrastructure and capability development.

“Our deployment is balanced and robust; we are capable of handling any situation,” he said.

India and China are restoring bilateral ties frozen for over four years due to the military standoff in Ladakh’s Galwan.

Srinagar:

Five Lashkar terrorists were killed today during a counter infiltration operation by police and army along the Line of Control or LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, said police

The encounter took place in Machil sector of Kupwara district today. In the initial shootout today, two terrorists were killed and in the ensuing gun battle three more terrorists were shot dead, police said.

According to police, the killed terrorists belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba ( LeT).

Increasingly, the police are also being used in the counter infiltration operations, which was earlier done exclusively by the army.

The operation is still underway.

Dilbag Singh, Director General of J&K police, said that 16 terrorist launching pads are still operational across the LoC and there are efforts to push in terrorists from Pakistan.

A meeting of top officials of Jammu and Kashmir and security agencies was held at the headquarters of the 15 Corps in Srinagar on Wednesday.

The role of foreign terrorists in Kashmir was one of the big talking points at the meeting.

“The number of foreign terrorists has gone up again as local recruitments have gone down drastically,” said an official.

Out of 46 terrorists killed in the Union Territory this year, 37 were Pakistanis and only nine were locals, official figures reveal. This is the first time in the 33 years of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir that the number of foreign terrorists killed is four times as high as local terrorists. 

About 130 terrorists are operating in the Valley currently, of which half are foreign terrorists, says the Ministry of Home Affairs.