india

Updated: Sep 05, 2019 01:37 IST

Two Pakistani nationals associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba were caught while trying to enter Kashmir, top security officers said on Wednesday.

“Pakistan is desperate for terrorists to infiltrate... to disrupt peace in the valley,” General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s 15 Corps Lt General K J S Dhillon said at a joint briefing with Additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Munir Khan.

He said the two Pakistani nationals associated with the LeT were apprehended on August 21.

Two videos were played during the press briefing showing the apprehended Pakistanis confessing to infiltration.

“These two videos very clearly show how Pakistan, its Army and the citizens of Pakistan are being pushed into Kashmir to undertake terrorist activities in the valley to disrupt the peace that is prevailing, specially after August 5,” Dhillon said.

Munir Khan said infiltration attempts are being made continuously. “Many such (infiltration) attempts have been foiled by the Indian Army so far,” he said.

In the video clip, the captured Pakistani nationals identified themselves as Mohammad Khalil and Mohammad Nazim, hailing from Rawalpindi area of Pakistan. “We were extensively helped by the Pakistani Army to enter into Jammu and Kashmir and our job was to target Indian Army units,” Mohammad Nazim said while sipping tea. The two admit that they were being trained by Lashkar and Pakistan Army personnel, and named several of their accomplices.

“Orders and instructions have been very clear that we have to avoid any kind of civil casualty and we are adhering to it,” Khan said, adding that things are improving gradually and hopefully they will fall into place and normalcy will return soon.

Dhillon said that in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, all the launch pads are full with the terrorists of various tanzims (terror groups).

“Even these two captured terrorists were housed at the Pakistani forward posts of the Army and then they were guided by the Pakistani regular troops up to the LoC,” he said.

As the terrorists in their statements have said, all the launch pads across the LoC, not only opposite Kashmir but also opposite Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu, are full of terrorists of various groups, and every day infiltrations are being attempted, Dhillon said.

“In Kargil, they refused to take back the bodies of their soldiers. In this incident they refused to take back the bodies of their citizens and now we have live terrorists who are Pakistani citizens with us,” the Army officer said.

The DGMO of Indian Army has already conveyed to the DGMO of Pakistan about these apprehended individuals, Dhillon said.

The launch pads are full with the terrorists ready to be launched into Kashmir to disrupt peace, the officer added.

About the arms and ammunition recovered from the two terrorists, he said that war-like stores and some IED materials were recovered from them.