The spectre of increased infiltration along the Jammu border was underscored by national security advisor MK Narayanan at a briefing of the Union Cabinet on Thursday, who told the country?s political leadership that destabilising forces were trying to take advantage of the Amarnath land row and foment trouble in the region.
Narayanan, however, told the meeting that security forces were on full alert and in complete preparedness. His assessment to the Cabinet was made even as Pakistani troops fired mortar shells in Nowshera sector in Jammu in the early hours of Thursday, a classic tactic to divert the attention of security agencies while infiltrators sneaked in across the border.
The national security advisor had visited Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, holding meetings with senior officials as well as governor NN Vohra. Narayanan was accompanied by defence secretary Vijay Singh, chairman of the joint intelligence committee H Upadhayay, Intelligence Bureau director PC Haldar and joint secretary at the Prime Minister?s Office, Sanjay Mitra.
??Narayanan apprised the Cabinet of the prevailing situation,?? I&B minister PR Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting. To questions on the action being taken by the government, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was already in the process of defusing the crisis in the state.
Government sources said that the latest assessment given by the national security advisor had been anticipated by intelligence agencies, and had stepped up vigilance in the Jammu sector. The brief spell of shelling in Jhangarh area of Nowshera, where six mortar shells were filed by Pakistani troops in a span of 45 minutes early Thursday morning, likewise was countered effectively, they said. A defence spokesperson in Jammu said later in the day that ??troops are on alert all along the Line of Control (LoC) to foil any evil design of the enemy??.
The sources maintained that the Cabinet, however, did not deliberate much on the political aspect of the issue, leaving the task to a select group of ministers who are now handling the matter. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is one of them, held a separate meeting with Narayanan. On Wednesday, he had held meetings with political leaders including Karan Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Significantly, the government also decided to resume the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, sending about 100 passengers to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The move was viewed as an attempt to indicate the return of normalcy in the state, which was hit by violence just a week ago.