Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Wednesday visited the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in the frontier district of Poonch during his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir after assuming charge as the 30th Chief of the Indian army on June 30.
During his day-long visit, General Dwivedi also reviewed the overall security situation against the backdrop of the ongoing Amarnath yatra and the operational preparedness of the troops deployed in the region. General Officer Commanding-in-chief, Northern Command Lt Gen Suchindra Kumar, and General Officer Commanding of Jammu-based White Knight Corps Lt Gen Navin Sachdeva accompanied the Chief of Army Staff along with other senior officers.
In Poonch, the Army Chief chaired a meeting of field commanders before taking an aerial review of forward areas.
The Indian army in a post on X said, "General Upendra Dwivedi COAS, along with Army Commander Northern Command, visited the forward locations of White Knight Corps & reviewed the security situation along the Line of Control LOC. COAS was briefed on the operational preparedness by the Commanders on the ground. COAS lauded All Ranks for maintaining high standards of professionalism & exhorted them to remain steadfast in meeting all current & emerging security challenges".Earlier, when General Upendra Dwivedi commanded the Northern Command he outlined the ‘Strat 24’ for operational focus in the year 2024 to defeat the inimical designs of our adversary and sponsored terrorists.
Currently, the Indian army is carrying out intensive anti-terrorist operations in the areas south of Pir Panjal to flush out the foreign terrorists who may have carved out fresh hideouts deep inside the thickly forested jungles and the natural caves to dodge the security forces.
According to official sources, between October 2021 and May 4, 2024, the Indian army suffered huge collateral damage in these ambushes orchestrated in the areas South of Pir Panjal to spread the 'arc of terror' across the Jammu region. The standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh also impacted the security scenario with the shifting of a large number of troops to beef up Indian defenses in the cold desert region.Statistics revealed a total number of 35 Army personnel were 'killed in action' in different targeted strikes across Jammu and Kashmir during the same period. In contrast, only five terrorists were neutralized in these operations.
Interestingly, the foreign terrorists adopted the same modus operandi in these 'audacious' strikes.
The chief of Army staff also interacted with some ex-servicemen at 93 Infantry Brigade.
According to an ADGPI post on X, "General Dwivedi also interacted with the parents of Bravehearts of the Poonch region who laid down their lives in the service of the Nation. COAS also met the Veterans & assured them of unwavering support from the Indian Army. He also interacted with officials of Jammu and Kashmir police & prominent Civil dignitaries and appreciated their synergy & cooperation with the Indian Army in maintaining peace & harmony in the region.