In the backdrop of continuing incursions by China into Indian territory and rise in infiltration by militants into Jammu & Kashmir from across the line of Control (loC), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday reviewed the operational preparedness of the three Services in meeting any challenge.
The meeting took place at the Directorate of Military Operations here and Defence Minister AK Antony and top brass of the Defence Ministry besides the three Services Chiefs attended the meeting. Singh was briefed about the security scenario on the eastern front facing China and the western border with Pakistan, officials said after the meeting. The PM was apprised of Chinese military strength in the eastern sector and the status of its military infrastructure including roads and rail network besides airfields in the Tibetan plateau.
With Chinese military continuing to intrude into India in ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh despite both the countries signing the Border Defence Co-Operation Agreement last year, the Army updated the PM about the measures taken to stop incursions on the line of Actual Control (lAC), they said.
The Army also apprised Singh about the steps taken to raise China specific Mountain Strike Corps. The Government had given the go-ahead to this critical project worth over 70,000 crore mid last year comprising recruitment of more than 40,000 personnel, acquisition of long range artillery guns, howitzers, helicopters and all terrain vehicles for fighting in the mountains. The Corps will be raised and fully operational in the next five to seven years.
As regards Pakistan, the armed forces are gearing up for enhancing preparedness in the backdrop of the US pull out from Afghanistan after which it is feared that terror elements will spread out in the region especially Jammu and Kashmir. Actively aided and abetted by Pakistan army and ISI, militants carried out bold and audacious attacks on the security forces in J&K in 2013 killing 53 personnel including 31 Army men. The casualty was a three-fold rise as compared to 15 personnel killed in 2012.
With lok Sabha elections slated for April-May and assembly polls in October in the border State, security forces fear that militants will step up levels of violence in the next few months and top commanders briefed the Prime Minister about their strategy to counter this challenge, sources said. Incidentally, last year also saw more than 200 ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the lOC and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir after Pakistan army commandos along with militants ambushed and killed five Indian soldiers in Poonch sector in August.
In an effort to check the situation from getting out of hand, Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in New York on the sidelines of UN Summit in September last year and agreed the Directors General of Military Operations(DGMO) to meet face to face to sort out contentions issues.