This drop is not being attributed to increased US pressure on Pakistan but on the additional deployment of Rs 2 crore to deal with infiltration and insurgency. On the ground this means increased fire contact with the Army and militants along the LoC, and elsewhere too, making infiltration and operating in the Valley more difficult. With the shift in preference, forced induction of local boys have also gone up. In the last two months alone, a dozen boys, who were being forcibly taken across the border, were intercepted by the Army. They were later reunited with their families.
Militants now have access to more sophisticated weapons.
The seizure of anti-aircraft guns and solar propelled missiles point towards this. This fact is being interpreted as a lack of will to take on the security forces head-on. Figures collected from the Army reveal that as many as 61 IEDs were detonated in the first six months, where as 103 were detonated in the whole of last year. Similarly, a total of 173 IEDs were detected before blasts till June this year, in contrast to a total of 229 that were recovered in the whole of last year.