Pak terrorists may target J&K ahead of Obama visit: Parrikar

New Delhi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and an Army Corps commander have expressed apprehension that “Pakistan-backed terrorists” may attack “soft targets” in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit here this month.Addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of the Army Chief’s “at home” function to mark Army Day, Parrikar said: “They (terrorists) may try to do something to create news. But we are well prepared.” He ruled out any immediate talks with Pakistan.Lt Gen KH Singh, General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Nagrota-based 16 Corps, said the Indian Army had inputs that Pakistani terrorists might carry out Peshawar-like terror attacks on soft targets such as schools, places of worship, civilian areas and convoys where the security forces were not present in the militancy-hit J&K.Lt Gen Singh said Pakistan had set up 36 war rooms in as many launch pads to engineer terror attacks. “I will call them modules — an amalgam of Pakistan Army’s Special Forces, SSG, local formation commanders and terror groups — which are being led by the ISI. They may try and carry out attacks on soft targets. They may try to enter the state via the Nepal route,” he said.He said schools under the Indian Army and paramilitary forces were being taken care of. “There have been instances when such attacks took place during eminent leaders’ visit to the country in the past,” he said.Parrikar said Pakistan would have to turn words into action for bilateral talks to begin. “Let things cool down at the border also. If things are quiet now, it is not because of the Pakistan Army, but because we reacted in a certain way when they fired first,” he said.Lt Gen Singh said: “The internal situation in Pakistan is complicated now. It is facing a lot of threat from its home-grown terror but there are possibilities that it may try to deflect some fringe elements of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to our side in the garb of assistance to the so-called Kashmir freedom fighters.”On the US-led NATO forces drawdown in Afghanistan, he said the US had decided to keep some troops there but again the possibility of terrorists coming to J&K could not be ruled out.Lt Gen Singh said 44 terror camps remained intact in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “There are nearly 200 terrorists in 15 such camps on the other side of the LoC opposite the 16 Corps zone area in Jammu,” he added.