Pak national held in J-K identified as terrorist guide, probe underway

A Pakistani national arrested along the Line of Control (LoC) near Jammu and Kashmir's border districts of Poonch and Rajouri while attempting to infiltrate into India is a terrorist guide, officials said on Monday.

Mohammed Arif was leading a group of four Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists into the Indian side when he was overpowered and arrested by alert Army troops on Sunday afternoon. The terrorists with him jumped from a steep cliff and returned to the Pakistani side with injuries, the officials said.

Arif, a resident of Datote village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), was arrested from the forward Hajura post in Gambhir area under the Army's Ace of Spades division, they added. Recapping the events of the day, they said vigilant troops, maintaining an aggressive surveillance posture in the rugged terrain, detected suspicious movement of a group of suspected terrorists attempting to exploit the difficult terrain and dense foliage in order to infiltrate.

While Arif, in his late 20s, was "tactfully captured", the four terrorists jumped off the cliff when they noticed the Indian Army. They landed in No Man's Land' and returned to Pakistani side under the cover of thick foliage and adverse weather conditions, the officials said.

Army troops could not open fire on the terrorists due to the presence of Pakistani posts nearby, they said. Drone footage of the area showed a blood trail, indicating that the terrorists had suffered injuries due to the fall.

Arif was in possession of a mobile phone and some Rs 20,000 in Pakistani currency and told his interrogators he was aware of the topography of the area as he is a resident of the Line of Control on the Pakistani side and working at the behest of Pakistani army to help the terrorists to infiltrate into the Indian side, the officials said.

They said the terrorist guide is undergoing detailed interrogation and crucial intelligence is being extracted. This will help in further strengthening the counter-infiltration grid.

The successful counter-infiltration operation underscores the unwavering resolve and professional prowess of the Indian Army in safeguarding the national borders, the officials said, adding that the swift detection, effective response, and successful apprehension of a guide speak volumes about the high state of operational readiness and coordinated efforts of the troops deployed along the LoC.

They said the Indian Army remained committed to thwarting all attempts by inimical forces to disturb peace and tranquility in the region.