Jammu Tawi, Jan 23: The Border Security Force on Saturday unearthed a 150-meter long underground tunnel across border n Samba-Kathua sectors in Jammu division of J&K constructed by Pakistan at the International Border (IB) to facilitate infiltration of terrorists into Jammu-Kashmir's Kathua district. This is the second tunnel detected in 10 days by the BSF that last year went on for search operations to detect and destroy a web of tunnels across border constructed by Pakistan. The BSF had unearthed 10 such tunnels since 2011 in the Jammu region.
The tunnel was detected just five days after a tunnel was detected by Border Security Force on International Border.
“It is a 25-30 feet deep tunnel and a long one as compared to some detected recently,” officials said, adding that the long tunnel was meant to push infiltrators into this side and its use in any infiltration in recent times is a matter of investigation
The secret tunnel was detected during an anti-tunnels-detection operation in the border outpost Pansar area of the Hiranagar sector, he said. It is the fourth in the past six months along the IB in Samba and Kathua districts and 10th in the past decade.
On January 13, a 150-meter-long tunnel was detected in Bobiyaan village in the same sector. A BSF officer said the latest tunnel is believed to be 150-metre-long originating from the Pakistan side with a depth of about 30 feet and three feet diameter. The whole area has been cordoned off and further details are awaited, he said.
Shakargarh of Pakistan that is the area across the fence which is home to a terror training facility overseen by one of Jaish-e-Mohammed's operational commander Kasim Jan. According to the reports, Indian intelligence believes he was involved in the November 19 Nagrota encounter in Jammu and is the principal accused in the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack. Jan is also one of the main launch commanders of Jaish terrorists into India.
The tunnel appears to be at least 6 to 8 years old and would have been used for infiltration for a long time. Also, it is located in a place that has seen action in the past, right from 2012 when Pakistan had mounted a heavy fire assault on the forward duty point and constructed a new bunker on the zero line in the vicinity.
