Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Aug 23: Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh today stressed for high degree of vigil along the Line of Control (LoC) to foil infiltration attempts by militants into Kashmir and operational focus to tackle the militancy in the Valley.
The Army chief, who arrived here today, reviewed the security situation in Kashmir and along the LoC with the Commanders on the ground.
Commending the alertness of all troops deployed along the LoC in foiling the nefarious designs of inimical forces, Gen Dalbir stressed upon the need to continue high degree of vigil and operational focus.
Gen Dalbir directed the troops to ensure the measures to prevent militants who jeopardise the lives of innocent civilians, from moving with impunity in Kashmir valley. It is worth mentioning here that the militants are moving freely in several parts of Kashmir taking the advantage of the unrest and are even making public appearances.
The Chief of Army Staff accompanied by the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua, visited the Army formations deployed along the LoC in North Kashmir to review the functioning of the counter-infiltration grid along the LoC.
The Army chief was briefed about the operational preparedness of the troops along the LoC and about recent successful counter infiltration operations in which over 10 infiltrators were killed over the past one month.
He also visited the Victor Force Headquarters at Awanti-pora where he was apprised of the latest situation in South Kashmir which has been epicenter of recent unrest in Kashmir in which 65 protesters were killed and thousands were injured.
Suhag appreciated the professionalism with which the troops had been operating in full synergy with other security and civil agencies to keep the situation under control.
The Army chief impressed upon troops to uphold human rights and exercise maximum possible restraint while dealing with the protesting mobs. It may be mentioned that last week Army had ordered a probe into the death of a civilian in Pulwama who was beaten by the Army during a night raid.
Later, the Army chief also visited Badami Bagh Cantonment, Srinagar where he was briefed by the Northern Army and Chinar Corps Commanders on the situation in Kashmir and along the LoC.
The chief was also briefed about the initiatives taken by the Army across the Valley to constructively engage with the people towards their well being and an early return of normalcy.
Lauding such humanitarian steps, Gen Dalbir reinforced the need to synergise efforts with all the other stakeholders. He also made an earnest appeal to the people to eschew violence and help restore peace and calm at the earliest.
Follow our WhatsApp channel