No Traces of Taliban in Kashmir, Assures Indian Army Chief

There are no traces of the Taliban in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor said on Tuesday and added that the force was prepared to check the surge in infiltration in the run-up to the elections.

“We have had no traces of Taliban. There are other elements like LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and the JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed),” he told reporters on the sidelines of an international seminar, responding to reports of involvement of certain Taliban elements in the infiltration in the valley.

“We had already foreseen all this (infiltration bids) happening and were quite well prepared. That is why our troops are there on the LoC (Line of Control). We have put a three-tier defence system in place … And we have been able to check infiltration,” Kapoor said.

With the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections only two days away, there has been an increase in the cross border infiltration bids in the Kashmir Valley.

“During the run-up to the elections we had expected that there would be certain amount of calibrations from the other side. We will be able to beat the situation and the Lok Sabha elections will be as peaceful as the assembly elections (in Jammu and Kashmir),” Kapoor added.

The army chief also said that there were reports of women being trained for infiltration but there was no confirmation yet.