Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said that the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in Pakistan’s Balakot, that was bombed by the Indian Air Force in February, has been reactivated recently and about 500 infiltrators were waiting to infiltrate into India.
He asserted that the reactivation proves that the terror camp was affected and damaged by the airstrikes carried out by the IAF.
“Balakot has been reactivated by Pakistan very recently. That shows that Balakot has been affected. It had been damaged and destroyed. And that is why people have got away from there and now it has been reactivated,” he told reporters at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.
In the wee hours of February 26, the Indian Air Force had bombed terror group Jaish-e Mohammed’s biggest training camp near Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, in retaliation to the deadly terror attacks on CRPF personnel in Pulwama on February 14 this year.
Reports stated that the JeM camp was destroyed in the “pre-emptive airstrikes” killing a large number of terrorists.
Speaking to reporters, General Bipin Rawat further said that with the imposition of restrictions after the abrogation of Article 370, there has been a communication breakdown between the terrorists in the Kashmir Valley and their handlers in Pakistan. However, he asserted that there is no communication breakdown between people to people.
Rawat further said that Pakistan is carrying out ceasefire violations to push terrorists into the Indian territory, adding that the Army is alert and will ensure that maximum infiltration bids are foiled.
Post the revocation of Article 370, militants have been resorting to civilian killings and threats to instil fear among the people so that the return of normalcy is prevented in the valley.
On September 9, Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the Army and other security forces including the Central Reserve Police Force had arrested eight militants from the Sopore region after busting a terror module of the LeT.
The arrests come a week after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had said that more than 200 terrorists were trying to cross into India from Pakistan and Islamabad was trying to stoke violence in the region.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army and intelligence sources, quoting the confessions of two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists captured recently in Jammu and Kashmir, have also said that around 300 trained militants are prepared to enter Indian territory from Pakistan.
Tensions have heightened between India and Pakistan after the Centre’s move to revoke special status to Jammu and Kashmir with Islamabad stating it a “strategic blunder” that will cost New Delhi “heavily”.