SRINAGAR: Three days after top Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Naveed alias Abu Hunzullah escaped from police captivity in a hospital in Srinagar, Union Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and Army Vice chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand on Friday visited Kashmir to review the security situation and visited the forward areas along Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir to review the operational preparedness of troops.
Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said Union Defence Secretary, Sanjay Mitra, arrived in Srinagar today to review the overall security situation in the Valley.
“Mitra visited the forward areas along the LoC in north Kashmir, where he was briefed about the prevailing security situation along the frontiers and also interacted with the commanders and troops on ground,” he said.
The defence secretary was also briefed on the close coordination amongst all the government agencies in maintaining peace in the region.
Mitra also visited headquarters of 15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar, where he was briefed by GoC Lt Gen A K Bhatt about the counter infiltration and counter militancy grids functional in the Valley.
He appreciated the various measures instituted to strengthen the security posture and the good job being done by all the security forces.
Mitra’s visit comes three days after LeT militant Naveed, who was arrested in 2014, escaped from police captivity in SMHS hospital in a militant attack in which two cops were killed.
The defence secretary’s visit also comes amid recent surge in ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in which at least 19 people including 10 security men have been killed.
Meanwhile, Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS), Lt Gen Sarath Chand, also arrived in Valley today to review the security situation.
He visited the formations and units in north Kashmir, where he was briefed by the army commanders about the operational preparedness as well as the measures taken to meet the security and weather related challenges.
The vice chief also interacted with troops and emphasised on the need for undertaking relentless intelligence based operations to sustain pressure on the militant groups and maintain a high degree of vigil along the LoC to foil any infiltration bid.
The troops deployed along the LoC are on highest level of alert in view of apprehension of infiltration attempts by militants and recent surge in ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops.