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New Delhi: In what could be a further embarrassment for the Army, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on July 9 said he had been raising the issue of concentration of militants at Hillkaka in Surankote sector of Jammu region since early 2000, though it was tackled only this year through the operation "Sarp Vinash".

Ridiculing the reports that the state machinery was silent about the concentration of militants in Hillkaka, Abdullah, who is in New Delhi to participate in the Parliamentary Consultative meeting said, "I have been raising the issue with Army in every meeting of the Unified Headquarters, but saw no action."

The former Chief Minister said he had no idea about the delay of operation by the Army till April 2003. "May be they had some operational requirement," he said.

"Well, they have faced the damage as maximum of militants are reported to have fled the Hillkaka region and are now entrenched in other areas of Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri and Kishtawar, killing people at their own whims," Abdullah said.

Asked when was the first information shared with the Army about the amassing of militants in this region, Abdullah, who is now the member of Rajya Sabha, said, "The information started trickling first from the Intelligence Bureau, which was further substantiated by the state police."

"As a fall out of these reports, the Indian Air Force had taken a decision of not flying their helicopters around this region," Abdullah said.

PTI