'There may be routes which I am not aware of': Top Army officer over arms smuggling into Kashmir

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Brigadier Tapas Kumar Mishra said, “There may be routes which I am not aware of” while replying to a question over the recent incidents wherein arms and ammunition had been recovered in the valley.

Keran (Kupwara): A top army officer posted along the Line of Control in north Kashmir's Kupwara district has said that there may be certain routes along the border unknown to the Army and used by infiltrators to smuggle arms and ammunition into the Kashmir valley. In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Brigadier Tapas Kumar Misra said, “There may be routes which I am not aware of” while replying to a question over the recent incidents wherein arms and ammunition had been recovered in the valley.

Kumar is heading the 268 Infantry Brigade in the Keran sector of Kupwara where his troops are guarding the LoC ensuring there is no infiltration. This brigade is manning and keeping surveillance of 55 km length of the LoC in the Keran sector. “The army has been deployed along the LoC for many years now. The endeavor has always been that no infiltration and arms smuggling. Yes, small arms have been recovered in the valley. There may be routes that I am not aware of. I can say that there has been no such incident in our sector,” Brigadier Misra said at his headquarters in Phakrian Pass which is at an altitude of 9600 feet and 12 kilometers from LoC.

Pertinently, three Al- Badr militants were arrested with a pistol along with a magazine and eight rounds, and two hand grenades on Sunday at Wangam crossing in Kupwara. The recovery came four days after police recovered explosives in the form of gelatin sticks from a bus in Jhajjar Kotli area of Jammu. On May 23, 18 pistols were recovered from five alleged militant associates arrested in Baramulla and Srinagar districts. Earlier, on April 19, security forces recovered 10 pistols, 17 pistol magazines, 54 pistol rounds and 5 grenades during a search operation at Hajam Mohallah, Tad Karnah area of Kupwara.

Brigadier Mishra said that the troops were alert along the LoC adding that a “great combination of man-machine security set up” had been put in place along the border. Over the 2003 ceasefire agreement reiterated by India and Pakistan in February 2021, Brigadier Misra said, “Ceasefire is upheld from both sides. We are here to guard the border whether there is a ceasefire or not. Our troops have to be up and about. We make sure that no infiltration takes place. There have been infiltration attempts, but we have foiled them by killing the infiltrators”.

"In these 15 months, no violation has taken place on either side. The ceasefire has ensured no casualties of our troop deployment along LoC," he said, adding that the LoC was fenced two decades ago and since then modern surveillance equipment is being used to enhance the vigil. "Technology has ensured better surveillance but despite that, we don't lower our guard and the troops have to be alert as the enemy is always trying to foil peace with its nefarious designs," he said.