Infiltration into India
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
A backgrounder
Arun Sharma, Jan 20, 2025: The Indian Express
The infiltration problem in Jammu and Kashmir
India has a 740-km long Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan, which passes through the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Along the 540-km LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army has erected barbed wire fences to check infiltration of militants and smuggling of arms, ammunition, and narcotics.
Despite this and the 24×7 heightened vigil by Indian troops, militants at times find a way to infiltrate and smuggle in weapons and drugs into Jammu and Kashmir. Nullahs and dense forests on treacherous mountain terrain act as natural gaps along the LoC.
Defence experts say this infiltration is facilitated by the Haji Pir Pass falling on the side of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan’s occupation of Haji Pir, a mountain pass at a height of 8,661 ft on the western fringe of the Pir Panjal range, provides the neighbouring country a strategic geographical advantage, they say.
Operation Gibraltar
In August 1965, Pakistani soldiers infiltrated into Kashmir disguised as locals, with the Haji Pir Pass as one of their key routes.
The plan was to incite the Muslim-majority population of Kashmir against the Indian Government. Pakistan believed that a rebellion by the local population would serve its Kashmir case at international fora.
Its military strategy was that while several columns would occupy key heights around Kashmir Valley, others would mix with the local population and destroy bridges, highways, communication and logistic installations of the Indian Army, giving it the look of a local uprising against the Indian Government.
However, the operation failed at the very outset, as local Kashmiris did not revolt and instead informed the Army and the police about the presence of Pakistani infiltrators.
As a result, more troops were sent to the Valley, leading to the capture or killing of most of the infiltrators.
After the end of the 1965 war with Pakistan, a number of local people were honoured by the Government for their help.
Mohammad Deen, a youth from Darakasi village in Tangmarg, had taken his livestock to Tosha Maidan where he came across Pakistani infiltrators. As he won their confidence, they asked him to buy them some things, including pherans (local Kashmiri dress). However, Mohammad Deen informed the Army. After the war, Deen was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions. However, he was killed by militants during the initial days of militancy in 1990.
Ghulam Din, a Sarpanch from border Dalan village, who helped Indian troops reach Haji Pir without getting noticed by the Pakistani troops stationed there, was awarded Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award.
The 1965 India-Pakistan war
Indian troops crossed the Line of Control on August 15 and captured three important mountain positions in the Kargil sector overlooking Srinagar-Leh national highway.
By August 28, the Indian Army had captured the entire Haji Pir Bulge and Haji Pir Pass, nearly 8 km inside the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
The capture of Haji Pir was a major strategic victory of India, as it not only neutralised the logistical set-up and plugged infiltration routes, but also brought the Poonch-Uri road under its control, thus reducing the distance between these two border towns from 282 km to 56 km.
But after the failure of Operation Gibraltar, Pakistani Army launched Operation Grand Slam, with its division strength of troops attacking Akhnoor in the wee hours of September 1, 1965. Their plan was to capture the then only bridge over Chenab in Akhnoor, which would have blocked Indian supplies to its troops deployed south of Pir Panjal.
From Akhnoor, the Pakistani troops planned to march towards Jammu and cut off the national highway to Kashmir.
In the initial advances, they captured Chhamb (Chumb). Thanks to US aid, the Pakistani military had superior artillery, armour and infantry power. However, as they continued their attack on Akhnoor, the Indian Army took the war right inside Pakistan. It opened a new front in Pakistan’s Punjab province and marched up to Sialkot, reaching close to Lahore. This made Pakistan divert its troops from Kashmir for the defence of Lahore.
The Tashkent Declaration
The 17-day hostilities between the two countries ended after ceasefire on September 20, followed by the Tashkent Declaration on January 10, 1966, with both sides agreeing to withdraw to their pre-August position.
At that time, India was in possession of 1,920 sq km of Pakistani territory, mainly the fertile land of Sialkot, Lahore, and Kashmir sectors, including the strategic Haji Pir Pass. Pakistan had 550 sqkm of Indian territory, mainly in the deserts opposite its Sindh province, and Chhamb in Akhnoor.
The 1965 war resulted in strategic and political defeat for Pakistan, as it did not succeed in fomenting a rebellion in Kashmir and was instead forced to shift its troops to the defence of Lahore. During the Tashkent Declaration, India too returned Haji Pir and other captured areas to Pakistan. With the return of Haji Pir, Pakistan re-gained the strategic advantage along the LoC in Jammu.
Pakistan vacated Chhamb, but in the 1971 war, India lost the territory again. It is now a part of PoK.
YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS/ STATISTICS
2021, till July
August 10, 2021: The Times of India
India has recorded 13 times more infiltration attempts at the border with Bangladesh than Pakistan till now this year, while as many as 8,486 refugees crossed over from Myanmar after the military coup in that country.
In a written reply, junior defence minister Ajay Bhatt said the border with Pakistan recorded 33 infiltration attempts, in which 11 infiltrators were killed and 20 apprehended. The figures for Bangladesh were 441 attempts, with one infiltrator being killed and 740 being apprehended. “In addition, 11 illegal infiltrators along the Indo-Nepal Border have been apprehended this year (up to June 30). No cases of infiltration have been reported at the Indo-China border,” he said. TNN
