Ahead of the Army Commanders’ Conference in New Delhi next week, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat took stock of the prevailing security scenario along the line of control and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
The day-long meeting between the army chief and the top commanders of Northern Command in Udhampur assumes added significance as it comes closely on the heels of elimination of four foreign terrorists in Sunderbani area of Rajouri.
The army authorities are closely tracking down the possible route of infiltration taken by the infiltrators to pick some piece of evidence to suggest their handlers sitting across the line of control launched them inside the Indian territory to target vital security installations.
Even after infiltrating inside the Indian territory the heavily armed group of terrorists failed to hit their target and were neutralised in a nine-hour long operation by the joint team of security forces on Wednesday.
As the peak summer season is approaching, the army authorities are now anticipating a hot summer ahead.
During the army commanders’ conference, the Army Chief is expected to discuss the current security scenario and how to tackle the same, especially in the wake of a spike in incidents of ceasefire violations, frequent sniping from across the line of control and involvement of Border Action teams in targeting Indian posts with active support of special services group of Pakistan army.
According to official sources, Army Chief, after attending the briefing, issued instructions to the field commanders to remain in a state of high alert following provocative strikes aided and abetted by the Pakistan Army along the line of control and in the hinterland.
The challenge of containing public anger on the streets of volatile South Kashmir districts also came up for discussion briefly.
During the meeting, the Army Chief took feedback from the local commanders on how to tackle these challenges in the coming season.
Emerging trends this season clearly suggested there is no let up from the Pakistani side to scale up tensions along the line of control by pushing big groups of heavily armed terrorists. The frontier district of North Kashmir in Kupwara is already witnessing frequent encounters with heavily armed terrorists.
Even the terror factories, hit hard by the Indian army deep inside the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (Pok) during the surgical strikes, have sprung up once again and imparting commando training to young cadre before bringing them closer to the line of control across different launching pads.
Meanwhile, Udhampur-based spokesman of Northern Command headquarters Col NN Joshi in a statement said, “General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff was briefed by Lieutenant General D Anbu, GOC-in-C, Northern Command, on the overall security situation along the Line of Control and the hinterland in the command theatre on Saturday.
Col Joshi said, “the Army Chief interacted with the senior military commanders and took a firsthand assessment of the prevailing operational conditions and operational preparedness. ”
“He appreciated the high standards of operational readiness in the difficult terrain and challenging operational environment. The General also lauded the synergy and cooperation between the Northern Command, Air Force, Central Armed Police Forces, Civil Administration, and J&K Police operating in the region,” Col NN Joshi said.