Concerns raised over Chinese activities
Source: The Sangai Express / Press Trust of India

New Delhi, December 13 2012: Concern was expressed over Chinese activities in Ladakh region and presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK) during a meeting of Parliamentary Consultative committee of the Home Ministry.

Intelligence Bureau Director Nehchal Sandhu, however, while briefing the MPs, said a close watch was being maintained along the India-China border and that there was nothing to be worried about, official sources said today.

Participating in the meeting held here last night, some MPs had voiced their concern at the repeated incursions by Chinese troops in Ladakh region and their growing presence in PoK, the sources said.

According to official data presented in Parliament earlier this year, there were nearly 500 Chinese incursions in the last three years.

Of this, 218 was in 2010 and 213 in 2011 .

There were 64 such incursions till April this year.

Intelligence agencies have been reporting presence of around 4,000 Chinese troops across PoK.

Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh had said in September that Chinese soldiers were present in PoK to provide security to its railways and road projects.

In an official release issued today by the Home Ministry, it was stated that the Consultative Committee of MPs attached to the Ministry reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

During the meeting, Shinde said terror-related violence in J and K was at its "lowest" .

This has been made possible because of the yearning among the people in the state for peace and the successful measures taken by security forces of the state and Central Government in restricting the infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) and various other counter-insurgency actions on all fronts.

The MPs deliberated on the current security scenario, infiltration, border encounters, incidents of stone pelting and hawala funding in detail in J and K.Coordination among security agencies, modernization of state police forces, visit of all-party delegation to the State, reports of interlocutors and action on these reports were also discussed at the meeting.

Issues relating to migrants, rehabilitation of the surrendered militants, speedy implementation of Prime Minister's Reconstruction Programme and PM's Package for Return and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants to the State were also discussed.

Shinde said banned terror groups Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) continued to be the dominant militant groups, mostly operating from the districts of Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipore, Anantnag and Pulwama districts in Kashmir and Poonch, Ramban and Rajouri in Jammu region.

"This issue is being addressed from the security point of view and also taken up diplomatically with Pakistan.

The State and Central Government have adopted various counter measures to neutralize the efforts and capabilities of militants and others to disturb the peace in the State by inciting the people towards violent agitations and protests against duly elected institutions and authority," Shinde said.

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