Army intensifies winter operations in J&K to flush out Pakistani terrorists

Key Highlights

• Instead of reducing activities, the Army has adopted a “proactive winter posture”, establishing temporary bases and surveillance posts deep within the snow-capped areas to maintain pressure on the possible terrorist hideouts, the sources said.
• Operating in sub-zero temperatures with limited visibility, the Army patrols have been regularly traversing the high-altitude ridgelines, valleys, and forested areas to “deny the terrorists any sanctuary”, they added.
• The shift, according to experts, signifies an evolution in counter-terrorism tactics, underlining both the Army’s adaptability and its resolve to maintain operational momentum, irrespective of the weather or terrain.
• According to assessments by various intelligence agencies, there are “approximately 30-35 Pakistani terrorists” in the Jammu region currently, defence sources said.
• Inputs gathered over the past few months suggest that these Pakistani terrorist groups, finding themselves cornered by successful counter-terror operations, have shifted deeper into the higher and middle-mountain reaches of the region, areas now devoid of habitation, they said.