The Hindu : Sensors alone not enough, say Army commanders

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 15, 2002

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Sensors alone not enough, say Army commanders

By Sandeep Dikshit

MENDHAR JUNE 14. While welcoming the initiative of installing electronic sensors along the Line of Control to monitor infiltration, top field commanders of the Army feel that they will have limited utility and that infiltration can be checked only if Pakistan plays a proactive role.

"Sensors will definitely help us by increasing our surveillance and detection capacity. The recent but limited introduction of surveillance mechanism has increased our detection capability by about 20 per cent. Installation of more sensors will certainly bolster our capabilities but they will not completely eliminate infiltration,'' the Commander of the crucial 16 Corps, J. B. Yadav, said. Intrusions through the difficult terrain in Jammu and Kashmir was always planned meticulously. "Therefore, there is no foolproof system for detecting all intrusions.''

Lt. Gen. Yadav's colleague in the forward Pallanwala sector, Sudhir Sharma, also said that the sensors might assist in curbing infiltration to some extent but they could not end it. "It will require a lot of human effort, especially by Islamabad, to completely choke the infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan,'' said the Major General.

Most Army commanders in the forward areas of Jammu region maintained that it was premature to assess Pakistan's attitude towards infiltration. "The shelling level is fairly high. As of now, there is no change,'' said Randhir Singh, commanding the Army division in the hyperactive Mendhar sector, close to Poonch.

Lt. Gen. Yadav said that three to six months' data would have to be analysed before one could firmly conclude whether infiltration had abated. Though terrorists were lying low on instructions from Islamabad, it was more because of international pressure rather than a change in Pakistan's stand. "This had happened in September and again in December. But every time, there was a revival in terrorist incidents as well as infiltration.'' Turning down the suggestion that the lower rate of infiltration in June suggested a change in Pakistan's policy, he said "I don't know how anyone can come to such a conclusion on the basis of a week's data.''

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