Defence Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday reviewed security situation in Jammu & Kashmir with top Army commanders. His visit, the first after assuming charge as Defence Minister in March end, comes in the backdrop of continuing unrest in Kashmir Valley and attacks on security forces.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat also arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday to take stock of the measures taken by the Army to sustain the tempo of anti-terrorist operations. With expected spike in number of infiltration bids from across the line of Control (lOC) in the coming weeks, he was also briefed about the deployment pattern of troops in the counter-infiltration grid.
One additional battalion (1,000 soldiers) was recently deployed in the Shamshabari mountain range to prevent infiltration into North Kashmir and if needed more troops will be pressed into service to man the lOC.
Jaitley and Rawat were apprised of the deployment pattern and preparedness, officials said here.
Rawat will return to New Delhi on Thursday while Jaitley will be back on Friday after taking part in Goods and Services Tax(GST) deliberations with the State Government as Finance Minister.
The Defence Minister and the Army chief’s visits to the State comes at a time when protests and stone pelting remain unabated and security forces admit the situation is not conducive. Moreover, Pakistan Army was regularly violating ceasefire and firing on Indian Army posts forcing evacuation of civilian population from Rajouri and Poonch regions.
The Army along with Para-Military Forces and the local police were also gearing up for providing security cover to the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra commencing June 29 and ending August 7. Jaitley and Rawat were apprised about the plans to ensure an incident free pilgrimage where lakhs of people from all over the country were expected to participate.