NEW DELHI: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s key strategic and security challenges before top military Commanders, Army Chief Dalbir Singh on Saturday asked his Commanders to “continuously assess” the situation in view of the security transition taking place in the neighbourhood, and directed them to maintain relentless pressure on the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure peaceful polls in the state.
Addressing external security concerns, the General in his valedictory speech at the six-day long Army Commanders Conference here, asked the Commanders to continuously assess the situation in the subcontinent with respect to the force and security transition taking place and its concomitant effect on the nation’s security, according to Army sources.
The Army Chief’s remarks came in the backdrop of NATO forces starting the process of withdrawing from war-torn Afghanistan.
Even Prime Minister Modi, during his recent visit to the US, had cautioned Washington against hasty withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, citing the mistakes committed while pulling out from Iraq.
Commenting on the internal security plane, the Army chief stressed on the need to maintain relentless pressure in Jammu and Kashmir so that terrorists would not be able to to disrupt the forthcoming elections.
The Army Chief also expressed satisfaction on the situation in North-East and stressed all stakeholders to be made a part of the conflict resolution mechanism.
The Army chief also praised the Northern and Western commands for their exemplary response to the flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw spontaneous mobilisation of Army resources, both manpower and equipment, without waiting for any formal requisition.
The Army Chief lauded the selfless commitment of Indian soldiers, who never once turned back to look at their posts and families that had suffered equally in the floods, the sources said.
The Army should not forget that the human dimension would always remain the biggest battle winning factor, he said, adding that the focus must remain on training, equipment and character development of the soldier.
On the issue of modernisation, the Army Chief said the force had the support of Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and commitment of the Ministry of Defence towards fulfilling the Army’s requirements.
The Army Chief also called for efforts to streamline and refine in-house procedures aimed at preserving and increasing the life of all service equipment.