NEW DELHI: Under pressure from multiple quarters, the Army is quietly repositioning itself on the forward locations. Officers privy to the development said a battalion from Udhampur is moving to forward locations along with other reserve battalions from Jammu.
Besides movement of infantry brigades, multiple teams of elite Special Forces are camping in strategic locations. Sources claim that troops from commando units like 2, 4 and 9 Para SF are gearing up on the Line of Control (LoC), as they are trained in unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance and cross-border surgical strikes.
Sources in the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, which controls the major area along the LoC, say instructions have been issued to all Divisions and Brigades to be on the highest state of alert. Lt Gen S K Dua, 15 Corps Commander from Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment, has been making frequent visits to forwards locations on the border, to oversee troops movement.
Major General Anil Chauhan, Commander of the Baramullah-based 19 Infantry Division, which controls the 12 Brigade of Uri, has been busy in controlling high emotions of soldiers after the killing of 18 of their men in Uri.
An official explained that the troop movement is not up to the level of Operation Parakram, which the forces undertook after the Parliament attack in 2001, but the repositioning is required given the charged atmosphere. “We need to be more alert as they (Pakistan) are monitoring troop movement closely. Mobilisation of troops needs to be done quietly. Efforts are being made to plug the gaps on the LoC,” said a defence source.
Besides the movement on the border, the Army has also planned targeted killing in the hinterland, as they suspect nearly 140 terrorists to be hiding in the Valley, of whom 70 are believed to be foreign militants.