Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat visits Jammu and Kashmir, reviews operational preparedness

Amid the spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Saturday reviewed the operational preparedness of the force and the prevailing security situation in J&K.

Pic courtesy: Twitter/@adgpi

Jammu: Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Saturday reviewed the operational preparedness of the force in Jammu and Kashmir and the prevailing security situation.

He also visited forward posts along the LoC and interacted with soldiers in Rajouri sector, where an Army Major and three jawans were killed by Pakistani troops on December 23, he said.

"The Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, accompanied by the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen. D Anbu visited (Jammu-based) White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness and the prevailing security situation," the spokesman said, as per PTI.

The Army Chief was briefed by General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen Saranjeet Singh, about preparedness in dealing with the emerging and dynamically changing security situation and the measures taken to thwart "misadventures by the inimical forces", he added.

General Bipin Rawat #COAS visited White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness and prevailing security situation. He visited forward posts where he interacted with the soldiers and exhorted them to continue to remain vigilant and ‘Ever Ready’. pic.twitter.com/uqBvt138eb

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) December 30, 2017

On December 28, 2017, the Pakistani troops had violated ceasefire twice in Poonch district of J&K as they resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing from across the border, targeting forward posts and villages, an official had said.

He had added that the small arms firing from Pakistani side was reported for nearly three hours in the morning in three villages of Digwar sector, causing panic among the border residents.

The nearby Rajouri district had witnessed heavy exchange of firing between Indian and Pakistani Army after the latter initiated the firing in Noushera sector.

The latest violation of the ceasefire agreement from Pakistan came a few days after their troops opened fire on an Indian Army patrol, killing a Major and three soldiers in Keri sector of Rajouri district on December 23.

On December 24, 2017, Pakistani troops had also targeted forward posts and villages in Shahpur sector of Poonch district for nearly four hours but there was no report of any casualty.

The Indian troops had also killed three Pakistani soldiers and injured another in retaliatory action at Rukh Chakri sector in Rawlakot on December 25, 2017.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a total of 881 ceasefire violations in 2017, highest in past seven years, along the LoC and the International Border (IB), resulting in the death of 34 people.

According to officials, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 771 times till December 10, and 110 times along the IB till November-end.

In these incidents of firing from across the border, 30 people - 14 Army personnel, 12 civilians and four BSF personnel - were killed.

The truce between India and Pakistan along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir came into force in November 2003.

(With PTI inputs)