‘Be vigilant, maintain sanctity of LoC’
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, May 21: Army chief, General Manoj Pande, today reviewed the security situation in Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC) during his maiden visit to the Valley after taking over as the Army chief. He asked the troops to be vigilant and maintain the sanctity of the LoC.
Immediately after his arrival, General Pande visited the formations along the LoC in North Kashmir. He was accompanied by Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Northern Army Commander and Lt Gen ADS Aujla, Chinar Corps Commander.
The Army chief was briefed on the security situation and operational preparedness along the LoC by the formation commanders. He was given a detailed briefing by the Commanders on the situation along the LoC.
He was also briefed about the launch pads that are inside the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) near the LoC where scores of militants are waiting for the infiltration. He was told that the Army along the LoC is on high alert to counter any such attempts by the militants.
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The Army chief was briefed about the possible infiltration routes and mechanism put in place to foil infiltration attempts. He was told that the Counter-Infiltration Grid along the LoC has been further strengthened as militants are desperate to infiltrate after successful operations in the hinterland in which security forces eliminated top militant leadership. “The troops along the LoC and in the adjacent areas are conducting round the clock patrolling to prevent the infiltration,” the Army chief was informed.
Srinagar based Defence spokesman said here in a statement that the Formation Commanders also briefed the Army chief on the existing ceasefire agreement on the LoC, development works on field fortifications, Counter Infiltration Grid, operational preparedness and Army-citizen connect in border areas.
“The Army Chief, while interacting with Formation Commanders, laid special emphasis on being vigilant and maintaining the sanctity of the Line of Control. During his interaction with the troops, the COAS complimented them for their high morale and professional competence,” the statement said.
GOC 15 Corps, Lt Gen ADS Aujla, briefed the Army chief on the overall security situation prevalent along the LoC and hinterland. “The COAS highlighted that it was the dawn of a new era of development, peace and prosperity in Kashmir and applauded Chinar Corps for their high level of morale and contribution to peace building in J&K,” the spokesman said.
The Army Chief was briefed on Counter Militancy Grid, development works and operational preparedness for Amarnath yatra. He was given detailed presentation of the security for Amarnath Yatra and possible threats and measures to deal with them.
It may be mentioned here that the sticky bombs and drones are the new threat to the yatra this year and security forces have worked out a mechanism to deal with such threats.
The Army chief was also briefed about different types of threats specially threat of drone attack and sticky bombs to Yatra convoy and security forces. He was also briefed about the appropriate security responses to these threats.
He was told that the security forces are conducting intense search operations along the yatra route so as to defeat the designs of the militants and anti-national elements.
“The Army chief complimented the excellent synergy exhibited by all sections of the civil administration, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Armed Police Forces and other security agencies in projecting a ‘Whole of Government’ approach that has resulted in improvement in the security situation conducive for fostering a new era of development in the UT,” the spokesman said.
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