Army officers brief about security grid, Minister boosts morale of soldiers
A day after sending a “strong” message to China from Lukung, one of the forward posts near the stand-off point at Pangong Tso in the eastern Ladakh sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday visited forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district to take stock of the prevailing security situation on ground zero.
At the forward post, the Defence Minister created ripples in the high hills as he chanted “patriotic” slogans ‘Jo bole so nihaal....” in chorus with the troops.
An elated Rajnath Singh even requested for a repeat performance from the troops and they happily obliged him.
The Defence Minister mingled with the jawans and also patted their backs while sharing snack.
Ahead of the first anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories on August 5, Pakistan Army has been desperately trying to push heavily armed groups of terrorists inside the Indian territory to keep the terror pot boiling.
During Operation “All Out”, a total number of 65 terrorists have been neutralised by the security forces since June 1, 2020. The list included several top commanders of different terror outfits including foreign terrorists hailing from Pakistan.
Pakistan army is also resorting to ‘unprovoked’ firing and heavy shelling in the area to target the civilian population towards the Indian side. An infiltration bid was foiled by the alert troops on Thursday while eliminating one of the infiltrators along the LoC in Kupwara sector.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, along with other senior officers of the Northern command accompanied him to the forward area tour, aimed at boosting the morale of the troops standing guard along the LoC.
Senior Army officers at the forward post separately briefed Rajnath about the prevailing security situation and significance of the multi-layered counter infiltration grid.
After the meeting, Rajnath posted a tweet which read, “Visited a forward post near LoC in Kupwara district of Jammu-Kashmir today and interacted with the soldiers deployed there. We are extremely proud of these brave and courageous soldiers who are defending our country in every situation”.
Rajnath also tweeted several photographs and a video interacting with Indian Army soldiers.
The Defence Minister’s day started with a brief trip to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath. He spent about an hour at the cave shrine and offered special prayers along with the top brass of the Indian Army.
“Feeling extremely blessed after praying at Shri Amarnathji holy cave in Jammu & Kashmir,” Rajnath tweeted later along with a video which showed him praying with several Army officials.
Though Rajnath visited the cave shrine, speculation is rife over the formal date of start of yatra this year. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board authorities are yet to announce the schedule of registration. On the other hand, tour operators are a worried lot.
A tour operator, who regularly conduct pilgrim tours to the cave shrine during the yatra period told The Pioneer, “The ice stalagmite inside the cave shrine is melting due to relatively warm weather conditions compared to previous years” He said, if Shri Amarnath Shrine Board authorities would further delay the announcement of yatra the pilgrims will find it difficult to undertake the yatra in the absence of the ice stalagmite inside the cave shrine.
Meanwhile, on his arrival from Leh on Friday evening, the Defence Minister had formally attended a high-level security review meeting with the senior officers.
The Defence Minister had also asked the officials of the armed forces at a high-level meeting to maintain a strict vigil along the LoC with Pakistan. He asked the armed forces to give a fitting reply to any “misadventure” by Pakistan.