The floodlit international border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu. Tribune File photo

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 16

In total contravention to the much-hyped “zero” infiltration claim and “robust” anti-infiltration obstacle system (AIOS) of the Army and the BSF, militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 371 successful infiltrations by Pakistani militants from 2011 to November 2015.The Army and BSF have the operational responsibility of 744-km long Line of Control (LoC) and 198- km long international border (IB), respectively.While top Army and BSF officers seldom miss an opportunity to boast about “zero” infiltration and “robust” AIOS, the figures of successful infiltration have been released by the Union Home Ministry in its annual report for the year 2015-16.“No doubt, the terrain is rugged and undulating, but a total of 371 successful infiltrations in the last five years is of course a matter of concern. The top officers of the Army and the BSF should better avoid claiming zero infiltration from across the LoC and the IB,” said an Intelligence source.He said the anti-infiltration obstacle system on the LoC and the IB certainly needed a re-look.“The Centre has formulated a comprehensive integrated border management system (CIBMS) to stop infiltration on India’s western border, which is porous despite AIOS,” he said.The sooner India plugs its western border with CIBMS, better it would be for us, he added.CIBMS comprises CCTV cameras, thermal imagers, night-vision devices, surveillance radar, underground monitoring sensors, ground penetrating radars and laser barriers. Thrust will be more on technology than to rely upon human eye and other manual system used presently.On the trends of terrorist violence in the state, last five years, since 2011, witnessed a total of 1,160 incidents in which 210 security force personnel and 102 civilians lost their lives. At least 435 militants were also eliminated from 2011 to 2015.However, in 2015, there had been a decrease in terrorist violence as well as casualties of security forces and civilians in comparison to last year.During 2015, a total of 108 terrorists, including senior Pakistani commanders of prominent militant groups, were neutralised. Two Pakistani terrorists were also captured alive. During the year 2015, the law and order situation in the state remained normal.The ongoing militancy in the state is intrinsically linked with infiltration of terrorists from across the border, both from the international border as well as the Line of Control.On reported infiltration attempts and successful attempts in J&K in 2014 and 2015 (up to November), the statistics suggested a significant decrease in infiltration attempts in comparison to the corresponding period in 2014.There were 222 infiltration attempts in 2014 against 118 in 2015 (up to November). Similarly, there were 65 successful infiltrations in 2014 against 36 in 2015 (up to November).Since the advent of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, a total of 13,921 civilians and 4,961 security forces personnel have lost their lives till 2015.