Afghanistan withdrawal, J&K polls pose challenges: Army

Akhnoor, Jammu and Kashmir: Due to the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and polls in Jammu and Kashmir, this year will be a challenge for the security forces, a top Army commander said today in Akhnoor. “I must say that once the troops in Afghanistan leave, once the people are out of job, they (militants) will try to come to this side. We are aware of that reality. We are a responsible professional Army,” Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra, GOC-in-C Northern Command told reporters.[caption id=“attachment_1341973” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] GOC-in-C, Northern Command, Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] “We know that there is threat inside JK and threats from these inimical elements to peace. We are prepared for it—it is prudent to plan for it also—there are no such (Al Qeada) indicators, but yes we will be prepared for this eventuality,” he said. Lt Gen Chachra said this year may pose serious challenges before the Army. “2014 is a challenge for us. If there are problems in the neighbouring country, the affect would be found here also. They (militants) want to pollute democratic process in J&K. Terrorists inspired incidents are taking place, but you see that they are targeting soft targets or those areas where they want to achieve success and run away. We are prepared for it,” Lt Gen Chachra said. The officer was here to attend concluding ceremony of Investiture Ceremony held at Sangha Auditorium, Akhnoor border belt today. “The militants will make efforts to vitiate atmosphere in Kashmir Valley. We should not give them the cause to vitiate atmosphere so that they cannot start a cycle of violence in Valley or anything to trigger a communal tension,” the Northern Command chief said. “See, the fact is that the terror infrastructure is in place. A day before we killed three of the top terrorists including a big leader. We are going after the leaders,” he said. Lt Gen Chachra was replying to a volley of questions about militants’ plans this year, when Assembly and Lok Sabha polls are going to be held, cross-border infiltration, spillover of militants of Taliban and Al Qaeda from Afghanistan after the troops withdrawal. Referring to terror infrastructure in Pakistan and infiltration attempts, he said, “Number of militants across keep changing, but we know how many camps, how many launching pads are there. Militants are ready to infiltrate, recently their focus has changed from North (Kashmir) to South (South) due to weather conditions. “There are reports that attempts were made from North area to infiltrate taking benefit of bad weather. “The pattern of infiltration has not changed, the numbers have increased, the attempts have increased, they are still making attempts. It is only that we have put in place a comprehensive counter infiltration strategy which has ensured enhanced security guard on the borders.” PTI