Pahalgam attack: Terror infrastructure in POK, Pakistan 'remains fully in place', say Army officers

Soldiers patrol in an armoured vehicle near Pahalgam.

After the Pahalgam carnage, senior Army officers on Tuesday said that the terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pak-occupied-Kashmir (POK) "remains fully in place".

The officers said the "low-cost, high-impact" strike was probably carried out to coincide with US Vice President JD Vance's trip to India as well as PM Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia.

“Pak-trained terrorists are using other routes to sneak into J&K since strong counter-infiltration grid along the 778-km LoC has made it tough for militants there. Ten infiltration bids were foiled along LoC last year, in which 25 terrorists were killed," a senior Army officer told Times of India.

With 144 terrorists being killed in J&K in last two years, terror outfits were looking for a big strike to mark their presence. “The terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK, with the so-called strategic assets like LeT, JeM, UJC and Al Badr, jihadi seminaries and madrassa networks, remains fully in place,” he added.

“As was evident from Gen Munir’s recent rant against India, Pakistan was not happy with improving situation in J&K, with 2.9 million tourists visiting it last year surpassing previous records," the officer added, TOI reported.

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir had recently claimed Kashmir was Islamabad's "jugular vein", while invoking the two-nation theory. "Our stance is absolutely clear - it (Kashmir) was our jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not leave our Kashmiri brothers in their struggle," he said.

The Pahalgam terror attack, which has claimed the lives of 28 people, most of them domestic tourists, has sent shockwaves throughout the country.