Agencies/New Delhi

India said yesterday there were more than 40 training camps in Pakistan for militants who make regular attempts to cross the heavily fortified border between the countries.

India has identified 25 camps in Pakistani-administered Kashmir and 17 in Pakistan containing around 2,500 militants, Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran told parliament.

“The terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Kashmir remains intact and infiltration attempts from across the border still continue to pose a challenge to the security forces,” Ramachandran said.

Pakistan-based militants - with the support of Pakistan’s army - have made 249 attempts to sneak into Indian territory so far this year - two more than last year but far below the 489 in 2010, he said.

Intelligence inputs indicate “active support” of Pakistani intelligence and security agencies to push terrorists into India, the minister added.

The border area - particularly the Jammu region in Kashmir - is highly vulnerable to infiltration from Pakistan side,” he said.

But due to a “high degree of alertness, BSF (Border Security Force) personnel foil every attempt of infiltration by Pakistani terrorists. There has been no case of infiltration by terrorists,” Ramachandran said.

The lack of successful infiltration attempts was due to better border management, including border fencing and better intelligence, he said.

In Jammu, Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad said militancy in the state is due to infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC).

“Ninety percent of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is due to infiltration.”

He said if the barbed-wire fence along the LoC was made all weather, “the level of peace we have in Jammu and Kashmir can become permanent. Zero infiltration can give us zero militancy.”

He said that the central government was contemplating measures to construct an all-weather fence which can “survive the harsh weather.” Heavy snowfall last winter had damaged a considerable portion of the fencing.

Replying to a question on the threat by Hizbul Mujahideen militant group leader Syed Salauddin based in Pakistan to elected village council members and heads (panches and sarpanches), Prasad said: “He is sending threats sitting far away. We have the capacity to deal with his threats.”

In a recent interview, Salauddin said: “Panches and sarpanches are exploited by India to project Kashmir as pro-India, and as such, they will continue to be targeted.”

Separatist violence in Kashmir has dropped sharply since India and Pakistan started a peace process in 2004 but occasional gunfights erupt between militants and the security forces in the scenic Himalayan region.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of letting militant groups operate on its territory to train and launch attacks on India, such as a raid on Mumbai in 2008 - a charge that Islamabad denies.