Mile huwe hain: Farooq Abdullah on J-K infiltrations despite army presence

J-K National Conference President Farooq Abdullah has sparked controversy alleging a possible collusion amid the rise in infiltration in Jammu. Someone is responsible who is double-crossing, he said

Former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu-Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Sunday triggered a controversy by suggesting a possible ‘collusion’ on the rising infiltration bids in Jammu despite the presence of huge troops of the Indian Army.

“Mujhe bataiye, itni fauj hai hamare border pe…Phir bhi ye log kaise aa rahe hain. Yeh dawaiyan kaise aa rahi hain. Mile huwe hain. Hamari barbadi ke liye mile hue hain. (Despite such a large presence of troops at our borders, how are they (terrorists) entering India? How are narcotics coming in? They have colluded... for our destruction,” Abdullah told party workers in Kishtwar.

On the controversy, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jammu-Kashmir unit slammed the former CM for harbouring an anti-national mentality. The saffron party shared a video of the event, where Abdullah made the controversial statement, alleging that the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference president is attempting to mislead the citizens of the Union territory.

Later, Abdullah, in a separate interview to news agency ANI, said, “Militants in around 200-300 numbers….where have they come from? Someone is responsible who is double-crossing… the Centre should be answerable… Even the Bangladesh border is porous now...” 

There has been a surge in infiltrations in Jammu with several encounters reported between the security forces and the terrorists in the past few months. The attacks have also resulted in several casualties.

Increased infiltration in J-K

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in July, had informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 11 terror-related incidents and 24 counter-terror operations took place in Jammu-Kashmir up to July 21 this year. As many as 28 people, including civilians and security personnel were killed in these attacks.

According to experts, the rise in infiltration is being particularly attributed to the void created by a reduction in troop density in Jammu. The Centre has been redeploying the troops in Ladakh amid the ongoing border row with China.

Strengthening village defense groups

To deal with the situation, J&K DGP RR Swain on Sunday said that measures such as strengthening the village defence groups – an initiative in which the local population is involved in bolstering security of villages – were being taken.

“…the border villages with a history of standing up and participating alongside police and security forces….to be able to play their role or contribute and defeat infiltration and intrusion. We want to take that to a different level,” he said.