Army chief Bipin Rawat visits LoC, boosts soldiers' morale
Day after Pak forces behead jawans, Gen. Rawat tells Armymen that entire nation stands behind them.
Srinagar: Army chief General Bipin Rawat who is on a two-day tour of Kashmir valley on Tuesday visited the Line of Control (LoC) to review the situation during interaction with local commanders and troops. Gen. Rawat had arrived in Srinagar on Monday, hours after two jawans were killed and their bodies mutilated in a “well coordinated act” by Pakistan Army and the Border Action Team (BAT) along the LoC in Poonch sector.
A defence spokesman here said that accompanied by the Udhampur-based Northern Command and Srinagar-based 15 (Chinar) Corps GOC-in-Chiefs, the Army chief was during his visit to the frontier briefed by formation commanders on the security situation along the de facto border and measures instituted to strengthen the security posture besides overall operational and logistical preparedness.
“The Army chief impressed upon all to remain vigilant and thwart any misadventure from across especially now as the summer sets in,” the spokesman said.
He added that during his interaction with troops, Gen. Rawat reassured them that the entire nation “stood behind its soldiers in their brave endeavours to safeguard country’s sovereignty and integrity and maintain peace in the valley”.
On Monday, the Army chief had visited Panzgam garrison in Kupwara district where three soldiers including a captain were killed in a militant attack last week.
He was briefed by the officers on the April 27 incident during which two militants were also killed in the Army’s retaliatory fire.
Later in the evening, he was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the prevailing situation in Kashmir at a meeting held in Srinagar’s Badami Bagh Cantonment.
As per a statement issued by the Chinar Corps, the Army chief appreciated the synergy being shown amongst all security agencies and complimented the troops for undertaking operations with firmness and resolve.
Gen. Rawat also visited the Army’s 92-Base Hospital here to enquire about the health of soldiers recuperating and wished them all a speedy recovery.