The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Saturday said that this year the Indian side has thwarted a total of 12 infiltration bids by Pakistan along the Line of Control and killed 18 foreign terrorists. The MoD has also said the neighbouring country’s use of drones and construction of tunnels across the border were also countered.
This was disclosed by the MoD in its year-end review of 2022, which listed the key highlights of three armed forces and other bodies under the ministry.
The MoD blamed Pakistan for continuing to retain proxy war infrastructure and “prosecute the proxy war” in Jammu and Kashmir. “Functionality of training camps, presence of terrorists in launch pads and continuing infiltration attempts, vindicate persistent intent of Pakistan,” it said. The ministry has said that Pakistan continues to exploit the narco-terror nexus to radicalise and motivate innocent youth using pistols and grenades.
“The Indian Army primarily focused on maintaining its operational preparedness in line with India’s desire to ensure stability and dominance along the Line of Actual Control, Line of Control, carried out relentless counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations and maintained high training standards while constantly monitoring and reviewing emerging and future threats to national security,” it stated.
The Army is prepared for all military contingencies resulting out of the collusive threat from the military modernisation and aggressive actions by the country’s adversaries while creating capacities to deal with emerging threats in cyber, space and information domains due to the blurring of physical borders, it said.
The February 2021 DGMO Understanding refers to the discussions held between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan over the established mechanism of hotline contact. During the discussions, both sides “had agreed upon strict observance of all agreements, understandings and ceasefire along the Line of Control and all other sectors from midnight on 24/25 February 2021”.
The year-end review further stated that the situation has been relatively peaceful with both sides adhering to the DGMO Understanding. “As compared to 4,645 ceasefire violations during its peak in 2020, only three minor incidents have been recorded since the Understanding in February 2021 with only one incident during 2022. This year, Pakistan’s attempts to push in terrorists have resulted in 12 infiltration attempts being eliminated along the LoC,” it said while adding that large quantities of arms and ammunition recovered in the process.
The ministry said that the situation along the International Boundary (IB) in Jammu Kashmir and Punjab largely remained peaceful. “2022 witnessed intensive efforts by adversaries towards employment of drones to disturb peace and security along the border areas. The Indian Army has instituted a number of measures to counter this threat. Similarly, there have been persistent attempts by inimical elements operating from across the IB to construct tunnels close to the border for smuggling of arms, ammunition and narcotics in addition to infiltration of armed terrorists,” the review stated.