Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 2: Western Command officiating chief Lt Gen JS Cheema today reviewed the situation prevailing in Samba and Jammu areas of the border and hinterland and called upon the troops to remain vigilant and on high alert in view of upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
Just a day after he took charge of officiating Western Army Commander from Lt Gen KJ Singh on his superannuation, Lt Gen Cheema undertook an extensive tour of the border areas of Jammu and Samba by air and ground and reviewed security situation with top Army officials in Jammu especially the situation prevailing along the International Border with Pakistan in three border districts of Jammu region including Jammu, Samba and Kathua.
Lt Gen Cheema, who had taken over the charge of the prestigious Western Command yesterday, visited some of the forward posts along the International Boundary with Pakistan and reviewed operational preparedness of the troops to meet with any eventuality.
India and Pakistan share 198 kilometers long International Boundary from Lakhanpur to Akhnoor, which is manned by the Western Command.
Sources told the Excelsior that the Western Command officiating GOC-in-C carried out aerial survey of some of the areas along the borders and visited some other border posts by road. He had detailed inter-action with Jammu-based Army officers of the Western Command and troops deployed on the borders.
He assessed ground situation along Indo-Pak border, which though has been peaceful for the past sometime especially during first seven months of this year with no major infiltration attempt or ceasefire violation having been reported. He called upon the troops to remain on high alert as Pakistan could resort to mischief on the eve of upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
Expressing satisfaction at the security arrangements made by the troops, Lt Gen Cheema hoped that they would work with same dedication and devotion to maintain peace along the borders and don’t allow the militants to enter from the borders. He lauded contribution of the troops in thwarting nefarious designs of the Pakistani militants by not allowing them to infiltrate into this side to create trouble.
The Army Commander’s visit to Jammu borders within a day of taking over as the officiating GOC-in-C Western Command assumed significance as it comes amidst highly surcharged atmosphere between India and Pakistan in the wake of provocative statements being made by Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Sayeed and Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salah-ud-Din, which has further vitiated the atmosphere between the two countries.
Lt Gen Cheema called for keeping hawk’s eye on the borders using all sophisticated gadgetry at the command of security forces to thwart infiltration attempts by the militants from Pakistan side.
He told the Army officers that Pakistan could try to create trouble on the eve of Independence Day and it was necessary to remain on high alert not only along the borders but the hinterland to ensure that Pakistan didn’t succeed in its designs.
There have been reports that more than 50 militants were camping across the International Border in Jammu sector waiting for an opportunity to infiltrate into the Indian territory. However, the alert Border Security Force (BSF) jawans haven’t allowed the militants to infiltrate into this side despite some attempts being made by them.
The BSF and Rangers had held high level meeting for two days in Lahore on July 27 and 28 in which they had decided to maintain peace along the borders and resolve the issues amicably, if any, by holding regular meetings on the borders between the field commanders.
However, this year, there have been negligible infiltration attempts so far. The ceasefire violations along the International Border have also come down drastically.
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