Indian armed forces foil BAT's disruptive actions even before Pakistan launches them: Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane

Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane on Thursday asserted that the Indian armed forces are not allowing any disruptive actions by Pakistan Army`s Border Action Team (BAT) as the Army foils the attempts even before the adversary is able to launch them. General Naravane that the Army has been getting inputs. The BAT includes both regular Army personnel and mercenaries from groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and is tasked to carry out surprise attacks on the Indian posts along the Line of Control (LoC).

General Naravane underlined that there are 15-20 terrorist camps inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) where there are around 250-350 terrorists at any given time. The numbers may vary at different times. The Army chief said, “There are still 15-20 terrorist camps inside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir where there are around 250-350 terrorists at any time and numbers may fluctuate.’’

He also said that pressure build-up by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Pakistan is one of the factors behind the reduction of terrorism in Kashmir Valley. "If the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) comes down heavily on them, they (Pakistan) may have to rethink on their rhetoric and activities. FATF is a factor in the reduction of terror activities in Kashmir Valley,’’ General MM Naravane told reporters.

Speaking on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, General Naravane said that terror incidents have seen a downturn and the Army is maintaining pressure on terror groups. ''There is an external dimension to the decrease in cross-border terrorism,'' he said in an oblique reference to the ongoing FATF plenary meeting in Paris. “Pakistan may have to rethink strategy as even China realised they cannot back their all-weather friend all the time,’’ the Army chief said on the FATF plenary, adding, “China has also realised that they cannot back their all-weather friend (Pakistan) all the time.’’

The Arny chief welcomed the Supreme Court judgement to grant permanent commission to women officers in armed forces, asserting that the armed forces have been ''championing gender equality''.  He added the apex court's order will bring out a sense of clarity and purpose to gainfully employ officers for better efficiency of the organisation.

"The Supreme Court's decision is a welcome one as it brings out a sense of clarity and purpose to gainfully employ officers for better efficiency of the organisation. I must assure that everybody in the Indian Army including women officers will be given equal opportunity to contribute to the nation as also progress in their careers," he said hailing the verdict as enabling.

The top court on February 17 had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission and command postings. "Indian Army does not discriminate against any soldier based on religion, caste, creed, or even gender. The outlook of the Indian Army has been throughout like this and that is why we started inducting women officers as early as in 1993," said the Army chief.

Indian Army has taken the initiative to induct women in rank and file, and the first batch of 100 women soldiers is undergoing training at Corps of Military Police Centre and School, he also added. Letters are being sent to women officers asking whether they will prefer permanent commissioning, the Army chief said.