Author: Rahul Datta & Mohit Kandhari
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 25, 2012
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/360-todays-newspaper/52388-pak-militants-plan-to-piggyback-on-trade.html

Pakistan-backed militants are determined to disturb peace prevailing in Jammu & Kashmir for the last one year by stepping up smuggling of arms & ammunition and narcotic drugs through trucks coming to India from across the Line of Control (LoC).

These trucks enter India through two trading points as agreed upon by New Delhi and Islamabad to promote trade as part of confidence building measures. The two entry posts are Uri and Poonch and vehicles coming from PoK are not checked. Only registration papers of the vehicle and driving licence of the driver at checked.

Cross border trade is allowed four days a week since the Trade Facilitation Centres (TFC) were opened four years back and 50 to 70 trucks from across the LoC enter India every day. Security forces fear that in order to maintain its logistics lines, militants find some of these vehicles “an easy conduit” as they travel from Muzaffarabad in PoK to Srinagar.

In order to counter the new threat, the security forces have urged the Central Government to install full body scanners at these two entry points to examine the containers and packaged items, sources said. Appreciating the urgency and security requirement, the Government has agreed to provide the scanners and these would be installed within the next few months, they said, adding drugs were used to finance the terror network.

As regards the overall security scenario, the operational commanders are not willing to let their guard down after the relatively peaceful 2011 with levels of violence at an all time low as they maintain that “one summer of normalcy does not guarantee peace in Jammu & Kashmir.”