SRINAGAR: After taking over as Army chief, General Bipin Rawat arrived on a maiden three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to review the security situation in the border State and operational preparedness of the troops.
An army official said General Bipin Rawat, who recently took over as army chief, visited Udhampur-based Northern Command headquarters today. He was received by North command chief Lt Gen Devraj Anbu.
The army chief, he said, reviewed security situation of the State at a high-level meeting.
“General Rawat was briefed about the prevailing security situation in the State. He was briefed about the anti-militancy operations undertaken by the security forces in the State last year,” the official said.
At least 91 security men and 150 militants were killed in militancy-related violence in the State last year. It was the highest security forces casualties in a year in last eight years. Earlier, in 2008, 90 security personnel were killed in the militancy violence in the state.
Defense sources said the army chief was informed about the improvement of the situation in the Valley, which witnessed over five-month unrest after killing of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
They said the army chief was also briefed about the tense situation along the Line of Control (LoC), where skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops last year left 28 persons including 15 security men and 13 civilians dead.
The skirmishes witnessed surge after army conducted surgical strikes on militant launch pads across LoC on September 29 last year in response to the militant attack on army base in Uri, close to LoC, in which 19 army men were killed.
“General Rawat while chairing the high-level security meeting lauded the role of Northern Command in restoring peace and normalcy during the recent unrest in the Valley,” Jammu-based defense spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said.
He said army chief emphasised that they need to evolve a dynamic strategy to handle the proxy war and defeat enemy's nefarious designs.
Mehta said army chief later visited frontier areas of Rajouri and Akhnoor to review preparedness of troops.
Sources said during his visit to forward areas in Rajouri and Akhnoor, General Rawat interacted with the soldiers and officers.
He commended the soldiers for strongly reciprocating to the unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan. “Every soldier of our army plays an important role towards the security of the nation because it is the contribution of every soldier that makes the Army efficient and strong”.
According to sources, army chief told the soldiers and officers to effectively and aggressively retaliate to the ceasefire violations by the Pakistan troops.
Army chief will be visiting Srinagar, Nagrota and Siachen during his three-day visit to the State.
“He will also be visiting the troops' formations at Kupwara and Anantnag, where he will be briefed on the prevailing security situation and interact with men and officers,” Lt Col Mehta said.
The army chief is expected to meet State Governor N N Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti during his stay in the State.