Intel on possible Taliban infiltration came a month back

The fresh round of incursions across the LoC has finally brought alive the biggest fear of Indian security agencies.

The fresh round of incursions across the LoC has finally brought alive the biggest fear of Indian security agencies. The Taliban is at our door. And as expected it has started from Jammu & Kashmir. But this time the intelligence agencies had alerted the government well in advance,u00a0 almost a month ago.

Keeping us safe: Admiral Mike Mullen of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (left) with Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke during a press briefing in New Delhi on Wednesday. Holbrooke met senior Indian officials in New Delhi to discuss regional security issues and the "common challenges" that India, Pakistan and the United States face. Pic/Subhash Barolia

"Taliban was always under monitor. Earlier, it was perceived that Taliban was not interested in the Kashmir issue and India but now the situation has changed. Almost all big terror groups operating from Pakistan has aligned with it and they are expected to follow a common agenda," said a senior Home Ministry official.

The perception that Taliban had nothing to do with India stem from the fact that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) under the command of Betullah Mehsud never expressed any anti-India sentiments. "So far TTP was focused on Pakistan only, but for the last six months TTP's attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan has caught the attention of all the major terror groups operating from Pakistan," the official said.

The intercepts regarding Taliban planning to enter India was received almost two months ago which was corroborated by some unusual activities on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LoC). "Some of the intercepts were in Pashtun language and suddenly there was a lull in the terror activities in J&K. Similar intelligence was received from the areas which were under the control of TTP after the imposition of Shariat rule in Swat and FATA in Pakistan," said a senior Defence Ministry official, requesting anonymity.

Sources also confirmed that after a few high-level meetings among the officials from the two ministries the issue was put on the back burner and nothing concrete was done.

"The J&K police has ample proof that Taliban has finally landed in the country," the Defence Ministry official said.

Though nobody confirmed the potential targets of the foreign mercenaries but sources apprehended that as elections are round the corner the terrorists could strike big.

"They can launch sporadic attacks while targeting some big political figures," the official added.

Meanwhile, army sources confirmed that the infiltration from across the LoC has been reported from more than eight points across the valley.

The agents of death

Baitullah Mehsud first gained notoriety by sending suicide bombers across the border into Afghanistan to attack US and NATO forces. Then in 2007 he declared war on Pakistan. He formed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistanu00a0a loose alliance of disparate radical groups with different and often conflicting agendau00a0to unite and take revenge against the Pakistan Army for supporting the United States in their fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan.