New Delhi: Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on Saturday said he did not rule out the possibility of Afghan-origin terrorists trying to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir once the situation in Afghanistan stabilizes.
He cited similar examples when the Taliban was in power in Kabul two decades ago, news agency PTI reported.
General MM Naravane assured that the Indian Armed Forces are ready to deal with any eventuality as they have a very strong anti-infiltration grid with a mechanism to check terrorist activities in the hinterland of Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked whether there was a link between the recent targeted killings in Kashmir and the Taliban’s capture of power in Afghanistan, he replied: “Sure, there has been a spurt in activities (in Jammu and Kashmir) but have they Could be directly related to what is happening or happened in Afghanistan, we can’t really say.
“But what we can say and learn from the past is that when the previous Taliban government was in power, we certainly had foreign terrorists of Afghan origin in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
“So there are reasons to believe that once again the same thing may happen that once the situation in Afghanistan stabilizes, we may see an influx of these fighters from Afghanistan to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Talking about the preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces, General MM Naravane assured that they are fully prepared to deal with any such attempt.
“We are prepared for any such incident. We have a very strong anti-infiltration grid to stop them at the border. We have a very strong counter-terrorism grid in the hinterland to deal with any such action. Just as we dealt with them in the early 2000s, we would deal with them now too, if they venture anywhere near us,” he said.
Following the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, there has been a growing concern in the Indian security establishment about the possibility of terror spread from the war-torn country to Jammu and Kashmir via Pakistan.
An increase in terrorist activities, especially by groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, has not been ruled out.
The Army Chief termed the targeted killings of civilians in Jammu and Kashmir as “a matter of concern” and termed it as “reprehensible”.
“They do not want normalcy. This is the last attempt to remain relevant,” he said with reference to terrorist groups.
“The people will rebel. If they (terrorists) say that they are doing all this for the people, then why are you killing your own people who are your support base. This is just an attempt to spread terror which is completely unacceptable,” said General Naravane, as quoted by PTI.
He also said that the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan was seen “total” for four months from February.
“But from late July to late September and now in early October, sporadic incidents have started again. I think again, it is following the pattern of 2003 when it would start with a strange incident and be as good as not having a ceasefire,” he added, expressing his concerns.
“In the last one or two months, we are again seeing fresh infiltration attempts. We have eliminated two or three such infiltration attempts.”
In a significant move to defuse tensions, Indian and Pakistani forces announced on February 25, 2021 that they would cease firing across the Line of Control, re-committing themselves to the 2003 ceasefire agreement.
Giving details about the recent violations, General Naravane said that “besides the bids of infiltration, there have been three incidents of proper ceasefire violations, that is, one post firing on the other”.
(with agency input)
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