Amid perpetual fear of cross-border infiltration and artillery shelling in the areas adjoining the line of Control, top military officials of the Udhampur-based Northern Command visited forward posts and Army formations in the hinterland to oversee preparedness of the combat forces.
The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra had arrived here on Sunday along with a battery of officers to visit the sensitive posts in the Valley. Srinagar-based XV Corps Commander lt Gen Gurmit Singh briefed his seniors and accompanied them to the forward posts on Monday and Tuesday.
The spurt in border skirmishes from Kuthua to Kargil on the 740-km loC arc has increased security alertness in the region even as locals continue to live under fear. Both India and Pakistan have accused each other of causing fatal casualties in border skirmishes. The Northern Command looks after the loC and parts of international border in Jammu & Kashmir.
“The primary focus of the visit along the loC was in the forward areas of Gurez, Machhal, Tangdhar and Gulmarg wherein the General Officer interacted with the troops,” a Defence spokesman said here.
He said the Army Commander was pleased with the counter-infiltration and Joint Intelligence Grid which resulted in a series of successful counter infiltration and counter terrorist operations during which 28 terrorists were killed,” he said.
The Army says that its enhanced vigil along the loC has made the fence “almost impregnable” resulting to frustration of Pakistan backed militants eager to cross the loC. They say that killing of a large number of militants along the loC in recent weeks in Kupwara district indicates the desperation of militants to cross over before the onset of winter.
lt Gen Chachra also called upon Governor NN Vohra to discuss the security scenario in Kashmir. Around 42 security personnel have been killed in J&K so far this year, five times more than the fatal casualties suffered in the corresponding period last year. Even during the Army Commander’s stay in Kashmir, militants struck at two places in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and Shopian on Monday killing a policeman and one paramilitary personnel.
“The number of casualties indicates that the level of violence has shot up. This is really a cause of concern for the security grid,” a senior security expert told The Pioneer.