200-300 militants active in J&K, Pakistan trying to push in more: DGP

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh on Sunday said 200 to 300 militants are active in the state and Pakistan has intensified cross-border firing to push in as many of them as possible before the onset of winter.

He also said a large number of militants had managed to sneak into the state from across the border recently even as the counter-infiltration grid scuttled various attempts by eliminating infiltrators.

"The number of active militants (in Jammu and Kashmir) is between 200 to 300... the figure usually does not remain static and goes up and down," Singh told reporters during a visit to the border district of Poonch to review the security situation.

The director general of police (DGP) said Pakistan has intensified ceasefire violations to push in as many militants as possible.

"A large number of ceasefire violations are taking place in both Kashmir and Jammu regions. It is going on in Kanachak, R S Pura and Hira Nagar (along the International Border) and quite frequently along the LoC in Poonch, Rajouri, Uri, Nambla, Karnah and Keran," Singh said.

"These ceasefire violations are aimed at pushing (in) as many militants as possible (before the onset of winter). Our anti-infiltration grid is very strong and many infiltration attempts have been successfully foiled in the recent times," he said.

However, the DGP said, there are reports which suggest that a large number of militants have managed to infiltrate into the state.

"After their crossing onto this side, we had some encounters and some militants were also eliminated. While two Pakistani militants were arrested in Gulmarg sector, two militants were killed in a four-day-long operation in Ganderbal on September 29," he said.

Singh said some of these militants have been sighted at certain places and "we have intensified our operations against them".

Speaking about the situation in the state post abrogation of its special status under Article 370 two months ago, Singh said it is peaceful in Jammu, Leh and Kargil and things are improving in Kashmir.

"We are hopeful that the situation will improve further there (Kashmir) in the coming days," he said.

"Today, the movement of traffic was heavy in Srinagar and there were also traffic jams at some places. The markets have started opening and so have the businesses," he added.

Normal life in the valley has remained largely crippled since August 5, when the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status and announced the decision to bifurcate the state into two Union territories.

The DGP visited Kulali, Marah, Hill Kaka and Mandi areas in Poonch. Senior Army and police officers briefed him about the prevailing security situation in these areas.

Singh exhorted all ranks to remain vigilant to the emerging security challenges, a police spokesperson said.