Militant training camps operating in Pak: BSF DG

Some recent encounters in Kashmir valley indicate that militant training camps across the border are still in existence, BSF Director General M L Kumawat today said.    

"Pakistan needs to take a decisive action against them.In case Islamabad is serious about taking action against terrorist outfits in their own country, they must dismantle these camps," he told reporters here.

Asked about the number of such camps and locations across the border, he said "we need not go into their numbers and locations." The fact remains that these training camps are there and they need to be dismantled by Pakistani authorities, he added.

Pointing out that Pak rangers had built a number of structures including bunkers and observation posts across the border after the Mumbai attack, he said "we did not react to these developments as it would have given Pakistan an excuse not to deal with terrorists in that country".    

BSF is the largest border guarding force in the world with 2.25 lakh personnel and 30,000 more men would be added soon to guard the frontiers.    

He said the government has sanctioned setting up of 500 Border outposts (BOPs) — 300 in the eastern and the rest in the western sector. Of these, 33 will be upgraded and mordernised in Jammu frontier.

Kumawat said a Mahila Battalion in BSF will be commissioned on July 25.    

Women in the force will be deployed for frisking and searches and in dealing with trans-border crimes.

"We are also mordernising the force for which the government has provided Rs 4300 crores," he said adding this would be utilised for equipment, technology and border management of the force.

"Our responsibilities have become much more important keeping in view the capabilities of the terrorists," he added.     Discounting reports that a tunnel was being dug from Pakistan to India, Kumawat said that digging a 40-km-long tunnel would require a mammoth effort and merely 15 or 20 people cannot do it.    

Asked about the number of infiltration bids in J&K, the DG BSF without going into details said such incidents have come down.