Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday arrived on her maiden visit to embattled Kashmir and straightway went to line of Control (loC) area in north Kashmir to boost up the soldiers deployed in the region.
Accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, the Defence Minister took stock of the situation along the loC before reviewing the security situation at a meeting at XV corps headquarters in Srinagar. She also held discussions with Governor N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. Sitharaman’s arrival coincided with the first anniversary of ‘surgical strikes’ along the loC, which were prompted by a suicide attack on an army formation in Uri that killed 19 soldiers.
Defence sources said the Minister spent around an hour with soldiers in Tangdhar sector of Kupwara, which witnessed several infiltration attempts this year. The field officers briefed her on the troops’ preparedness to thwart infiltration attempts.
The Minister returned to XV Corps headquarters in Srinagar where she reviewed the security situation with top Army commanders.
“Raksha Mantri was briefed by the Army Commander lt Gen D Anbu in Badami Bagh Cantonment on the prevailing security situation in Jammu & Kashmir and was given an overview of the counter infiltration and counter terrorist Operations undertaken in the recent past,” Srinagar based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said.
“She appreciated the effectiveness of the intelligence and operational grids and commended the troops for the excellent operational successes, which had contributed significantly towards a secure environment in the State,” the spokesman said.
Sources said that the Defence Minister asked the troops to maintain pressure on terrorists and continue the operation to wipe out militancy from the region. She also emphasized on winning over hearts and minds of people.
later in the evening, the Defence Minister also interacted with the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and called on J&K Governor NN Vohra. Defence Minister will fly to Thoise (Siachen).
An official spokesman said that the Chief Minister pressed for speeding up the cases of land vacation by the Army in various parts of the State and release of rent dues in favour of owners whose land is in possession of the Army. She sought intervention of the Defence Minister for the return of certain pockets of land in the State which are no longer required for operational purposes by the Army and about which consensus has already been arrived between State Government and the Defence Ministry.
Mehbooba Mufti also raised with the Defence Minister pacing up of work on some important roads in the State being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation like four-laning of Srinagar- Baramulla –Uri road, Rajouri- Thanamandi- Surankote road, four lanning of Akhnoor- Poonch road, Reasi- Arnas – Mahore road, Turtuk – Hanuthang. She also pitched for construction of tunnels at Razdan pass on Bandipore- Gurez road and Sadhna pass on Kupwara-Tanghdar road.
The Chief Minister also flagged the idea of opening areas like Battalik, Siachin base and other areas for tourist activities including trekking and mountain biking. “Nirmala Sitharaman assured Mehbooba Mufti to look into the issues raised by her in a time bound manner,” the spokesman said.
