Terrorists were planning to attack Amarnath Yatra, Pak Army landmines, snipers found: Army

The Indian armed forces on Friday said that specific intel inputs have exposed Pakistan Army’s attempt to target the Amarnath Yatra. Addressing media during a joint presser, Chinar Corps Commander Lt General KJS Dhillon and Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said that high-calibre weapons have been recovered from a huge cache of ammunition. The landmine with Pakistan ordnance factory markings have recovered during searches in Kashmir, the top India Army commander said at the press conference. Lt General Dhillon added that ‘threat of improvised explosive devices is more pronounced in Kashmir Valley.’ “An M-24 American sniper rifle with a telescope was also recovered from a terror cache along Shri Amarnath ji route,” Lt General Dhillon added.

“We had done in-depth analysis of terrorism in Kashmir. 83% of local people who pick up weapons had record of stone-pelting.I request all mothers, if today your child throws stones at security forces for Rs 500 then he'll become terrorist tomorrow,” Lt General Dhillon further said. “7% terrorist eliminated within 10 days of picking up the gun, 9% within 1 month, 17% within 3 months, 36% within 6 months and 66% within one year,” he added.

Adding to the Indian Army’s statement, IG CRPF Zulfiqar Hasan said that , “Amarnath Yatra has seen unprecedented turnout and in spite of many threats it has been peaceful, there have been serious attempts to disrupt the yatra but were unsuccessful due to hard work of security personnel, use of technology and cooperation of people.” SP Pani, IGP Kashmir said that, “This year more than 10 serious attempts (terror attack attempts) were made at different places in the Valley. In these IED modules, several terrorists like Munna Lahori before that Kamran, Usman were arrested.”

The press conference gained the importance amid the backdrop of the massive troop movement in Kashmir. There were report today that the Centre has also pressed the Indian Air Force aircraft including the C-17 heavy lift plane into service. The decision has been taken to facilitate the rapid induction of the CRPF and other paramilitary troops into the Kashmir Valley. The development came after the sources in the government said that over 280 companies of security forces, which are 28,000 troops, are in the process of being deployed in the Kashmir Valley.