‘Violence level down along LoC’
NEW DELHI, Jan 29:
While maintaining that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains stable ‘but sensitive’, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande today said that in the last one year there haven’t been any more friction areas between India and China.
Speaking to a news agency, Gen Pande said that a total of 20 senior higher military commander meetings and 14 meetings of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs have taken place since April 2020.
“Situation along the LAC remains stable but is sensitive. In the last one year or thereabouts, we haven’t had any more friction areas in this. In terms of our efforts at resolution, our talks and dialogue both at the military level as well as the diplomatic level continue with the adversary,” Gen Pande said.
He said, “We have had total of 20 senior higher military commander level meetings and 14 WMCC meetings since April 2020. So the means of these talks, we’re hopeful that we’ll find a resolution.”
Briefing about the Army’s preparedness levels along the northern border, Gen Pande said, “Our deployment remains robust as well as balanced and we are also maintaining adequate reserves to be able to deal with any contingencies.”
“While this is happening, we are also focussing on our capability development in these areas in terms of infusion of technology, modernisation, inducting better systems such as our protected vehicles, surveillance drones, better communication radio sets etc. Simultaneously, our effort and focus are also being on infrastructure development. Be it the habitat, forward connectivities to the LAC, or strategic road connectivity…it also includes extending power supply to our forward troops, improving communication in terms of 5G communication to our troops deployed in forward areas,” the Army chief said.
“We are also working alongside other Government agencies, local administration and the local population to make sure that our preparedness levels along the LAC always remain high,” he added.
Gen Pande said that violence levels have come down in the last year along the Line of Control (LoC), adding that the Army will relentlessly pursue its operations to counter terrorists alongside the LoC and hinterland.
He informed that “a total of 71 terrorists were eliminated in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 35 were in the hinterland and another 36 as a result of successful counter-infiltration operations” in 2023.
When asked about the measures and the overall security situation along the Line of Control, the Army chief said, “Violence levels have come down. However, you mentioned the recent spurt in activities in Rajouri and Poonch. We have strengthened and reoriented our deployment both along the Line of Control and anti-infiltration obstacle systems as well as in the hinterland.”
“We are further improving our intelligence gathering in concert with the police and other agencies. The synergy between all agencies is being paid attention. Our operations to counter terrorists both along the Line of Control and hinterland will continue in a relentless manner,” he added. (Agency).
Follow our WhatsApp channel
