From Buffliaz, in Poonch, a 10-km drive on an under-construction road leads to an unmarked point in the forest where only locals know that the climb to Topa Peer begins.
Kashmir’s strong and layered counter-infiltration (CI) and counter-terrorism (CT) grid makes planning proxy operations difficult. On the other hand, dilution of troop deployment and a chequered history of local support may have led to activity and presence of terrorists shifting there
The latest attack reinforces the trend of fewer yet more impactful and high visibility terror attacks in the areas south of Pir Panjal as compared to the Valley.