Army chief lauds jawans on 100 days of ceasefire at LoC

On the eve of completion of 100 days of the ceasefire with Pakistan at the Line of Control, Army Chief Gen. M.M. Naravane on Wednesday reached Kashmir on a two-day visit to review the situation on the ground at the border and counterterrorist operations in the Valley.

The Indian and Pakistani DGMOs had agreed to observe a ceasefire at the LoC from February 24 midnight in a major de-escalatory move. The truce has mostly held till now, even though there were reports of some firing incidents at the international border. The Pakistan Army used to fire to give cover to terrorists to infiltrate into J&K. India and Pakistan signed a truce agreement in 2003 but it was frequently violated.

The Army Chief on Wednesday visited units and formations where he was briefed by local commanders on the security situation and the steps being taken to identify and target the overground workers’ (OGWs) network involved in radicalisation and recruitment of youth into terrorist ranks. He was accompanied by Northern Command GOCin-C Lt. Gen. Y.K. Joshi and 15 “Chinar” Corps commander Lt. Gen. D.P. Pandey.

Gen. Naravane expressed appreciation to the jawans and commanders relentlessly battling the dual challenges of Pakistan-abetted terror and the global pandemic. He was briefed by Lt. Gen. Pandey on the overall situation at the LoC and the hinterland at the Badami Bagh headquarters of 15 Corps in Srinagar.

Gen. Naravane held a separate meeting with J&K lieutenant-governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhavan and is due to interact with civil officials and some others for a broader assessment of the overall security scenario.