Pakistan has been enhancing its defence capabilities along certain sections of the Line of Control that divides India and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by laying anti-personnel mines and increasing the presence of Special Service Group commandos, latest intelligence reports have revealed.
The strengthening of positions comes at a time when terror training camps are being reactivated, and it is learnt that outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen are back in operation, this time with volunteers from ex-TTP (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan) factions. The strategy is being tweaked, security sources said, by not trying too hard to engineer fresh incursions, instead asking Pakistan-origin militants who have been lying low in the valley to reactivate themselves.
In recent months, terrorists who infiltrated from across the border took advantage of the tough terrain and dense forests to target security forces in the Jammu region. "The planting of landmines to damage army troops patrolling along the fence is not new. But with improved technology and quicker access to border areas, fresh attempts are being made to plant anti-personnel mines in certain stretches," said a security official in the state.
Senior security officials said there is an attempt to reignite local militancy but keep it on a low flame to avoid a repeat of an overreaction by Indian forces, but at the same time, be prepared by strengthening their positions.
The changing global dynamics, a senior official said, have also changed the cross-border strategy of the Pakistan Army, which is not only focused on provoking Indian forces with mock firings but also trying to attract international attention to alleged violations from the Indian side.
The inputs suggest that the ISI has more or less regained a certain degree of control over the jihadi forces, which they had lost over the last decade. There is a section within the ISI, an official said, which has been allowed some autonomy to try out a new counter to what they see as a TTP-Baloch offensive in their region.
However, aware of their limitations, the mining along the LoC is also to ward off the possibility of preemptive action by Indian security forces.