Frontier Diaries
In September, HT's defence correspondent RAHUL SINGH and photo editor GURINDER OSAN travelled to the tough terrains of the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan. In Frontier Diaries, we bring you their dispatches from what is one of the most volatile borders in the country
The long-running conflict along the Line of Control (LoC) took a dangerous turn in September, with a series of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani army ratcheting up hostilities with India.
The November 2003 ceasefire lay in tatters, as the neighbouring army upped the ante by using heavy weaponry against civilians and bombarding Indian Army posts along a 130-km disputed stretch running through the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. India responded with an aggressive counterpunch as well, freezing the Pakistani army in its tracks -- at least for the time being. A rare meeting of Indian and Pakistan generals, heading the crucial military operations directorates, is on the cards to reduce LoC tensions.
Amid simmering tensions in danger of boiling over, HT traveled down to the trouble spots along the LoC, spent time with soldiers in bunkers exposed to enemy fire and interacted with commanders on the ground to document the border conflict.
The soldiers are poised to retaliate with lethal force if the Pakistani army tries to cross the red line. The dreams and aspirations of ordinary humans, however, remain insulated from the harsh realities of a conflict that has cast a long shadow on the India-Pakistan relationship.
A panaromic view of the LED lit LoC fence at night. (Gurinder Osan/HT)
Mind games along LoC: Two key Indian Army posts on Pakistan radar
Rifleman Bhupender Basnet is sharpening his khukri in a heavily-fortified bunker barely a few hundred metres from the troubled Line of Control between India and Pakistan. Latest intelligence inputs on this section of the LoC in Poonch suggest the Pakistani army plans to target two extremely vulnerable posts—Haq and Kopra 2—where bunkers destroyed in previous strikes are still being rebuilt.
But Basnet, known as a booby trap expert in the battalion that guards one of the most vulnerable sections of the de facto Indo-Pak border, isn’t worried. “Their efforts to destablise the LoC don’t bother us. The enemy is well aware of what they’re up against,” says Basnet. The 26-year-old could well be speaking on behalf of the 5/4 Gorkha Rifles that holds over 25 posts in this sector. “We are more than capable of taking on a fresh wave of cross-border attacks,” says Basnet as his sharpening stone sings along the curved edge of the khukri.
Detail of Mountain ranges with forward posts near the India-Pakistan LoC in Saujian area near Poonch. (Gurinder Osan/ HT)
“There are reports the enemy is talking about overrunning the two posts. Holding advantageous positions gives them that confidence. But I have told my boys it will be a jackpot for us as we won’t have to go looking for them.”
The aggressive posture struck by the Pakistani soldiers perched on heights overlooking the posts has led the Gorkhas deployed here to be prepared for a counter-assault as they shore up defences against the threat from Pakistani posts - Kopra OP, Kopra LP and Brown Patch. “There are reports the enemy is talking about overrunning the two posts. Holding advantageous po
The Poonch sector is guarded by one of the army’s largest brigades with nine battalions, and it was in this area that the army used artillery for the first time to strike back. A localised conflict triggered by the Pakistani army here can spread rapidly along the LoC as the army would then concentrate its firepower on the weakest Pakistani posts in other sectors such as Krishna Ghati and Bhimber Gali.
An Indian Army soldier keeps a look out for enemy movement at a post near the India-Pakistan LoC in Saujian area near Poonch. (Gurinder Osan/ HT)
“When they talk about attacking specific posts, they are playing mindgames. “The intensity of our retaliatory strikes is not lost on them,” says Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, commander of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
“We carry out a detailed analysis of such inputs. The focus is on identifying our weaknesses and taking steps to fix them.”
The Pakistani army has been indulging in speculative firing in the Poonch sector to provoke a reaction from Indian soldiers. Commanders say the so-called plan to strike at Haq and Kopra-2 may be an attempt to test the waters or spread propaganda to divert the army’s attention. Whatever be the motive, the army is alive to the threat.
“We carry out a detailed analysis of such inputs. The focus is on identifying our weaknesses and taking steps to fix them,” says Brigadier Navdeep Brar, the commander of the Poonch Brigade. “And then we look for the opportunity to move in for the kill.”
Stalked by nightmares, students of this LoC school chase dreams
In a high school nestled in a breathtaking sweep of lush hills near the troubled India-Pakistan border, children tremble and run for cover whenever they hear an explosion.
To them, it doesn’t matter that the deafening roar is from an unexploded Pakistani mortar round detonated by a crack team of Indian combat engineers in the distant Balakot landscape.
Most of the students enrolled in the school come from villages sandwiched between the Line of Control (LoC) and the Army fence behind it, a dangerous strip over which rockets and bombs fly when the two armies trade fire. (Gurinder Osan/HT Photo)
Shaken by ceasefire violations, they fear a fresh wave of mortar and rocket attacks from across the border could see them locked up and isolated in their own school. It had happened on August 15 when they were celebrating the Independence Day, before the area came under an intense attack that killed six civilians in a neighbouring village.
“It was a scary day. Those memories are still fresh in our minds. It can happen again,” says Rabia Koser, a 17-year-old girl at the Army-run Pinewood School, Hamirpur, who wants to become a doctor . She was the Class 10 topper with a score of 76%.
“I hope to study in a university some day and get a job in a big town.”
Most of the students enrolled in the school come from villages sandwiched between the Line of Control (LoC) and the Army fence behind it, a dangerous strip over which rockets and bombs fly when the two armies trade fire.
“There are 456 students here and almost three-fourths of them come from across the fence. The ceasefire violations are a nightmare for them,” says Captain Aravind R, 26, an army doctor from Kerala who doubles up as the school principal when he is not writing prescriptions for soldiers.
As conflict looms and border villages remain gripped by uncertainty peculiar to the LoC, the students are driven by a passion to carve out a new future for themselves. “I hope to study in a university some day and get a job in a big town,” says Mohammad Ghayas, 16, writing an exam in the open ground below along with scores of other students.
Students of the army-run Pinewood School in Hamirpur area of Bhimber Gali write an exam in open ground, with hills in PoK in the backdrop. (Gurinder Osan/HT Photo)
Caught in the crossfire of a highly unpredictable border conflict, there are 14 villages ahead of the fence in Bhimber Gali area. “We never target their civilians, but the Pakistanis follow no rules. And we punish them for that,” says Brigadier HS Sahi, commander, 120 infantry brigade, located at Bhimber Gali.
Nasser Ahmed Khan, one of the 21 teachers here, graduated from the same school in 2005. “As the army improves the facilities here, I am sure these students have a bright future,” he adds.
Army brings in artillery for LoC fight, ready to ‘shock’ Pakistan
A scrawl by a young army officer on the remnant of a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fired by Pakistani soldiers on an Indian position captures the mood along the Line of Control (LoC).
“En RPG fired at BT. Why? Inki itni himmat!” it says, with En standing for the word ‘enemy’ and BT for a post called ‘Big Tree’.
Recent cross-border shelling has led India to pursue a more aggressive approach along the LoC, evident from the Army lifting a self-imposed restriction on bringing in artillery. Commanders on the ground have also been told to be on the lookout for rogue border action teams (BAT).
“I have asked battalion commanders to stay ready for BAT raids. It gives us the opportunity to kill them.”
Toughening its stance along the troubled border, the Army used 120mm mortars -- held by light artillery regiments -- for the first time in Poonch sector in early September after violations by the Pakistani army peaked in intensity and numbers. HT spotted an artillery battery equipped with these heavy mortars at a post called Forward Defended Locality 490, which was moved closer to the LoC on September 18 as hostilities grew.
“We fired 120mm mortars on two different occasions to good effect,” revealed Brigadier Navdeep Brar, commander of Poonch-based 93 infantry brigade. Battalion/ brigade commanders cannot order 120mm mortar fire and the go-ahead has to come from the Northern Army commander in Udhampur. Pakistan, however, uses the destructive weapon freely.
A view from the bunker of an Indian Army post on the LoC in Saujian sector near Poonch, India. (Gurinder Osan/HT)
Guns have been silent along the LoC since Indian and Pakistani commanders met at Chakan Da Bagh -- a border trading point on Poonch-Rawalakot road -- on September 21 to reduce rising hostilities that had left the ceasefire in tatters.
But there’s always a possibility of BAT raids. Terrorists suspected to be backed by Pakistani special forces form such teams, responsible for Indian soldier Hemraj’s gruesome beheading and the cold-blooded murder of five other soldiers in separate cross-border assaults two years ago.
“I have asked battalion commanders to stay ready for BAT raids. It gives us the opportunity to kill them,” said Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, commander of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps.
No one knows when the guns start booming again. It can happen tonight, it may happen tomorrow.”
HT visited several forward posts and found the LoC to be tense, but quiet. It may appear to be a good starting point for the upcoming dialogue between the two director generals of military operations for which dates are being worked out. But just for how long the fragile will peace hold is a question commanders find difficult to answer.
“No one knows when the guns start booming again. It can happen tonight, it may happen tomorrow. But they will be in for a shock if they go back to their old ways,” said Brigadier HS Sahi, commander, I20 infantry brigade located at Bhimber Gali.
His men defend a 45-km meandering stretch of the LoC and also man positions along the fence behind it, the second tier of the Army’s counter-infiltration grid.
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