Pakistan’s Western Front has been active in the face of severe resistance from the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the uncooperative posture of the de facto Taliban authority in Afghanistan.
Recent occurrences along the Line of Control (LoC) suggest attempts by the Pak army to reactivate the India front to shift attention from failures in the West
There were just a few episodes of gunfire after India and Pakistan agreed to a cease-fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021. However, a recent cease-fire violation and claims by Pakistan of the arrest of six smugglers from India alleging complicity of India’s Border Security Force in narco and arms smuggling since the Caretaker Government took office in Pakistan raise some concerns about the Pakistan Army’s intentions with elections at least six months away.
Incident on the LoC
On August 22, Pakistan’s Foreign Office summoned India’s Chargé d’Affaires to express its outrage “over the killing of a Pakistani civilian as a result of unprovoked firing by Indian forces along the LoC.
According to a press statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghias, 60, a resident of Oli village in Kotli district, was killed on August 21 as a consequence of an Indian shooting along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nikial Sector.
According to the Pakistan Foreign Office, such actions constitute a blatant breach of the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two adjacent nations, which was reinforced in February 2021. “Pakistan strongly condemns this incident and reiterates its commitment to peaceful conflict resolution in the region,” the Foreign Ministry added in the press statement. In June, Pakistani media reported that the Indian Army resorted to unprovoked firing on a group of shepherds along the LoC, killing two of them. The Indian Charge d’Affaires was also summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to register Pakistan’s strong protest over the Indian forces’ violation of the ceasefire.
On August 21, the Indian Army claimed to have killed two terrorists and prevented an infiltration attempt along the LoC in the Poonch district’s Balakote sector. “Intelligence inputs received from multiple intelligence agencies and the police revealed the presence of terrorists waiting across the LoC to enter from the Balakote sector,” the statement said. According to defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Suneel Bartwal, “a surveillance grid was placed on high alert based on these inputs, and multiple ambushes were planted at suitable locations.”
After the arrival of summer this year, Pakistan boosted the amount of infiltration by terrorists sponsored by it in J&K.
Smugglers are being apprehended.
According to DG ISPR, Pakistan Army’s official media arm, Pakistan Rangers forces positioned near the international border with India detained six Indian citizens within Pakistani territory between July 29 and August 3.
The Indians were attempting to transport “narcotics, weapons, and ammunition” into Pakistan, according to the statement. “It demonstrates likely BSF troop complicity in narcotics and weapons smuggling,” the ISPR added. ISPR stated that the four were from Ferozpur, India, and provided their names. “These Indian smugglers will be dealt with in accordance with the law of the land for illegally entering Pakistan and engaging in nefarious activities,” said the ISPR.
Surgical Strike: Fake News
The Indian Ministry of Defence denied reports in the media that a surgical attack had been launched in the same zone.
“News regarding the surgical strike has been published,” an Army officer stated in a statement. I regret to inform you that no such operation has taken place in Rajouri-Poonch. An infiltration bid was stopped yesterday, and a press statement was issued.”
Conclusion
Given the difficulties that the Pakistan Army is experiencing in internal security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, it would be sensible to redeploy personnel from the LoC front to these provinces and the Afghan border in order to control terrorism.
Also Read: Pakistan Army targeting ‘own’ civilians in Baluchistan
If the occurrences described above are preliminary signs of what is to come on the Line of Control (LoC), since there will be no political shelter of a civilian administration to shield the Pakistan Army from public criticism for its failings in suppressing terror, the “India Bogie” may be a handy excuse.
Let us wait and see what happens in the next few days.
