Army chief to visit Kashmir to review situation

New Delhi: With the ceasefire between the armies of India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) entering the 100th day, Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane would be in Srinagar on a two-day visit starting Wednesday to review the situation on ground along the border and the counter-militant operations in the valley.

The latest ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan had started in the last week of February after talks between the director generals of military operations of both armies and it has been observed by both sides since then.

“The Army chief would be in Srinagar today to review the situation on ground along with the top military commanders there from the 15 Corps which looks after both counter-terrorism and counter-infiltration operations in the valley.”

The chief would also be visiting the forward positions in the valley to review the operational preparedness of troops to tackle any possible attempts by the militants to carry out infiltration, they said.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval played a key role in the ongoing ceasefire agreement which has resulted in peace on both sides of the LoC for such a long period in the last many years.

Army chief Gen Naravane has also given clear instructions to the formations on the ground to ensure that the agreement is fully observed but at the same time to maintain strict vigil against any infiltration attempt by terrorists from across the LoC.

Army sources said the two DGMOs had discussed and finalised in detail the ceasefire agreement on February 23 and its implementation started a day after that.

Sources said the Pakistan Army, till recently, would open fire at Indian positions to help push terrorists into India but this has not happened since the ceasefire came into effect in the last week of February.

The announcement of the ceasefire was made by the two armies through a joint statement issued on February 25. The two countries had earlier signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003 but it was repeatedly violated.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)