J-K cops warn of Taliban moving closer to India

J-K cops warn of Taliban moving closer to India
CNN-IBN, April 09, 2009

New Delhi: The Taliban is moving closer to India’s borders, warns Jammu and Kashmir Police chief.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Kuldeep Khuda has told CNN-IBN that there has been a spurt in infiltration after Taliban gained control of Swat Valley and in parts of North West Frontier Province in Pakistan.

Kuldeep Khuda says the Taliban are now working in close coordination with terror outfits active in Pakistan.

“The Taliban have been active in the frontier province of Pakistan. Now they have moved closer to our borders. They have been active in Lahore and that gives an indication that they are getting more interested towards the eastern border of Pakistan. That also indicates there is more coordination between terrorists’ outfits in Pakistan. Of course we have to keep in our strategy for future and there has been some spurt in infiltration after the Taliban gained more prominence in Pakistan. It is a matter of concern and we are dealing with it,” says Khuda.

“In the month of March there has been activity on part of the terrorists to move around. We has some encounters, 28 terrorists, lots of foreigners among them, Pakistanis I should say… they got killed and fortunately our system of intelligence has improved a lot and we are getting good results. We had to keep all this in especially in view of elections which are on hand,” he adds.

He also says different terror groups have been launching coordinated attacks in the state.

“Whenever we have encounters generally we find a specific group being targeted. The mix of the two groups has been there in the past but generally incident of that kind of combined operation by various groups has been less. So these terrorist outfits have been working in a sort of lose coordination with each other but it is not they are totally independent of each other. They are being financed, outsourced , being equipped well from across by a single agency… that’s the elements within the Pakistan establishment and they have no reason not to operate in coordination with each other,” he says.

An advisory has already been issued to politicians in the state.

Earlier, the Union Government, too, had warned of terror strikes during elections.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had on March 27 sent out a letter to 25 VVIPs warning that they could be the target of terrorists during Lok Sabha elections.

Chidambaram wrote the letter to chief ministers and leaders of different political parties who have Z+ security.