Manohar Parrikar, Army Chief visit LoC, meet troops

As deadly clashes between facing troops have escalated tensions along the borders with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag on Wednesday arrived in Srinagar to review the overall security situation with the local Army commanders.

They also visited the frontier area of Uri where they were briefed by the local commanders on the prevailing situation along the Line of Control (LoC). The surgical strikes conducted by the Indian Army along the de facto border to target what it said were terrorist launch-pads in PoK in the last week of September led to a string of ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops both along the LoC and the International Border (IB) which were “effectively” retaliated to by the Army and the BSF, the officials say.

However, Islamabad has alleged that each incident of cross-border firing and shelling was initiated by the Indian forces and that its Army and border guards — Pakistan Rangers — returned fire only in retaliation. The surgical strikes had been prompted by the September 18 terror attack at the Army’s 12 Infantry Brigade headquarters which had left 19 soldiers dead and about 20 others wounded.

Earlier this week, fifteen civilians and an Army jawan were killed and about three dozen other civilians wounded as clashes between facing troops both along the LoC and the IB only intensified.

While eight civilians were killed and 22 others wounded on the Indian side of the LoC and IB in the Pakistani firing and shelling on Tuesday, one Army jawan and a woman resident died and another was injured on Monday in Poonch and Rajouri sectors. In Muzaffarabad, the authorities had said that, at least, six civilians including a woman were killed and eight others were injured in the Indian firing at different locations in Nakyal and Jandrot sectors of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on Monday. The deadly skirmishes caused panic among the border dwellers and hundreds of families fled homes to relocate to safer places on both sides in past few days.

A defence spokesman here said that the Defence Minister and the Army Chief were briefed on the prevailing situation along the LoC and the IB and in the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir also by the Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda and Srinagar-based 15 (Chinar) Corps GOC-in Chief, Lt Gen JS Sandhu, who were also present during their Uri visit. “The Defence Minister also interacted with the troops deployed in the forward areas over tea,” the spokesman said adding that “while complimenting their valour and fortitude, which he said was the entire nation’s pride, he also impressed upon the soldiers to remain in a very high state of alert to give a befitting response to any misadventure from across”.

Later Mr. Parrikar and Gen. Singh were briefed at Srinagar’s Badami Bagh Cantonment where the Chinar Corps headquarters are located on the latest internal security situation and about all the security measures initiated by the Army and other security agencies along the LoC as well as in the hinterland.

After their night stay in Srinagar, the duo is scheduled to meet the troops in other areas along the borders on Thursday. They will also pay homage to the country’s first Param Vir Chakra recipient Major Somnath on his 69th death anniversary at a function being held near the Srinagar Airport in Budgam district. Major Somnath was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military honour, posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations in November 1947. He laid down his life while evicting Pakistani raiders from Srinagar Airport during the first Kashmir war of 1947-48. He belonged to the 4th Kumaon Regiment.