Israelis helped check infiltration in Kashmir -Governance Now

Israelis helped check infiltration in Kashmir

Israeli infrared NVDs changed the scenario of the large-scale infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan side and helped army get an upper hand on the border

Aasha Khosa | July 4, 2017 | New Delhi

#army #night vision #terrorism #Kashmir #Narendra Modi #Israel #border #Pakistan

Night vision device (Representational image)

A small but sophisticated night vision device (NVD) that could track moving terrorists in the dark was the first gift from Israel to the Indian forces at a time when the latter was facing a huge challenge in the form of hordes of terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan through the alpine forests of the mountainous line of control.

The first consignment of the infrared NVDs changed the scenario on the border and LoC. The soldier manning a long and undulating LoC could now see thanks to infrared field (invisible to naked eye) around a moving infiltrator in the pitch dark from a distance and plan its elimination. The infrared NVD had thus given a cutting edge to the forces in tackling infiltration in Kashmir.

By the turn of the millennium, crossing border for terrorists and their Kashmiri guides was no longer easy. The army and the BSF had taken total control of the LoC and the International Border, thanks to the Israeli NVDs.

Israel not only provided India with NVDs, it also supplied defence equipment to manage the border. The Israeli equipments have gone a long way towards improving the vigil at the border with Pakistan.

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for Israel on a historic visit. He will be first the Indian prime minister to visit Israel. The July 4-6 visit is also important as it is for the first time that an Indian leader will be visiting Israel and not immediately following it up with a visit to Palestine.

The supply of ammunition by Tel Aviv during the Kargil war with Pakistan had helped India at a time when it was facing acute shortages and the US was exerting tremendous pressure on Israel not to supply the same to India.

Not only this, many experts from Israel had been quietly flown into Kashmir in the early years of insurgency erupting there. Although most of them had denounced the Indian side for being too indecisive and confused on tackling terrorism, their inputs had helped shape New Delhi’s policy of battling terrorism in Kashmir.

Israelis were particular that the Indian side must start covert operations against the supporters of terrorists and demolish their over the ground network; however, this sounded too brazen to their hosts at that time. Israeli diplomats and security experts would fly into Srinagar in MHA planes and minimise their interaction with security forces and the governor.

India was still shy of flaunting its growing relationship with the Jewish state.

Interestingly in the summer of 1991, Israeli tourists were involved in a most dramatic escape from the Kashmiri terrorists, which made headlines. A terrorist organisation had abducted ten Israeli tourists from a houseboat in Dal Lake and taken them to downtown Srinagar.

The terrorists had tied their hands in the back and were about to shoot them when one of the captives managed to free his hand and turned the table on his abductors. One Israeli was killed in the fight, rest got rescued and two terrorists were also killed in the fight in Srinagar's narrow lanes.

Later, Israeli said they could break free and fight terrorists because of their mandatory army training.

Kashmiri terrorists had then issued threats against Jewish tourists and alleged a lot of them coming to Kashmir were “Zionist agents”.

Comments

Other News

Supreme Court judge strength to go up by four to 37

The strength of the Supreme Court is set to go up from 33 judges to 37 judges, paving the way for a more efficient and speedier justice. The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposal for introducing The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 in Parliament to amend The Sup

BJP set to capture West Bengal

The political map of the country is set to be redrawn with the BJP set to win the West Bengal assembly elections, apart from Assam and the union territory of Puducherry. In Kerala, meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF is set to regain power. The filmstar Vijay-led TVK has emerged as the front-runner in Tamil Na

Beyond LPG: Is PNG ready for India’s next cooking fuel transition?

India, the second-largest importer and consumer of LPG after China, faces growing pressure due to supply constraints. Most of India`s LPG imports transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a focal point of global turmoil. Given that LPG forms the backbone of household kitchens and the restaurant industry, any s

Maharashtra adopts hybrid model for Census 2026 data collection

The government has initiated preparations for Census 2026 in Maharashtra, introducing a hybrid approach that combines optional self-enumeration with comprehensive door-to-door data collection to ensure complete coverage across the state. According to senior officials, the Self-

What the nine Indian Nobel winners have in common

A Touch Of Genius: The Wisdom of India’s Nobel Laureates Edited by Rudrangshu Mukherjee Aleph Books, Rs 1499, 848 pages

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff