Click to play videoPoonch (Jammu and Kashmir): The worst fears and relentless intelligence inputs of an increased infiltration from Pakistan into India have been confirmed with Jammu and Kashmir police seizing Pakistani SIM cards from a Laskhar-e-Toiba commander arrested recently in Poonch.
According to police, Pakistani mobile networks are fully functional on the Indian side of the border, with a better connectivity than Indian networks themselves.
That's because Pakistani signals spill 10 to 15 km inside Indian territory
Police say the seizure is a damning proof that terror outfits are increasing relying on Pakistani telecom operators for communication in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
“They (terrorists) have been using Indian SIM cards but it’s for the first time that Pakistani SIM cards have been used,” says Additional SP, Poonch, Tahir Bhatt.
Among the telecom operators traced are PK Ufone, Telenor, Pak PL, Warid Tel and Pakistan's telecom giant Mobilink.
Security agencies say the use of these networks make it harder to track records and intercepts of conversations between terror groups. Also, these networks facilitate outgoing calls from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan - a service which is otherwise barred by the Indian operators
While most Indian network services are barred in the region, a manual search on a mobile handset throws up five Pakistani networks.
The Home Department had earlier warned that Pakistan was erecting more mobile towers along the border to increase signal strength.
This latest seizure of SIM cards is grim reminder of how allowing such developments may increase misuse by cross-border terrorists, posing a threat to India's security.
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