Pak terrorists waiting to infiltrate: Army chief

Chennai: The Balakot terrorist camp, damaged and destroyed by the IAF in February this year, has been reactivated “very recently” and about 500 terrorists are waiting to infiltrate into India, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said.

The Chief of Indian Army Staff, who was in the city on Monday, also asserted that the wrong interpretation of Islam by some elements who wanted to create disruption, is spreading. Further, the clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir was nothing by a façade created by the terrorists, he stressed.

“Pakistan violates ceasefire to push terrorists into our territory. We know how to deal with ceasefire violations. Our troops know how to position themselves and take action. We are alert and will ensure that maximum infiltration bids are foiled,” he said lashing out at Pakistan for state sponsored terrorism and its repeated attempts to push in terrorists, especially after abrogation of Article 370.

Asked if there is communication breakdown in Jammu & Kashmir, the Army Chief told reporters, “There is a communication breakdown between terrorists in the Kashmir Valley and their handlers in Pakistan but there is no communication breakdown amongst people. All the telephones lines have been opened up.”

He revealed that about 500 terrorists from across Pakistan are trying to infiltrate. As the ice has melted, the bid to infiltrate is towards the northern part of Jammu & Kashmir and when the temperature falls such attempts were through areas less vulnerable to snowfall, he said. The Army has taken adequate measures to curb infiltration to the maximum extent by deploying more troops along the Line of Control, he added. Other areas, along the International Border were however being exploited for such purposes, he pointed out.

Important to have preachers who convey correct meaning of Islam: Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the ‘Young Leaders Training Wing’ at the OTA (Officers Training Academy) here, he called upon the preachers to convey the correct meaning of Islam.

“I feel the interpretation of Islam by some elements who possibly want to create disruption is being fed to large number of people. It is not that the religion is bad but the manner in which it is being interpreted for whatever reason is what is affecting the people who listen to those messages. I think it is important that we have preachers who convey the correct meaning of Islam in whatever form it was written by those who wanted Islam to be preached in proper manner,” he said.

The army chief cited the re-activation of terror camps in Balakot as proof that the Jaish-e-Mohammad complex was destroyed in the February air strikes by IAF. Balakot had suffered damaged and was destroyed by the cross border strikes and “that is why people have got away from there and now it has been re-activated,” he added.

On February 27 this year, IAF fighters flew deep into Pakistan to bomb a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror facility at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. n P4