Army chief reviews preparedness of forces along Indo-Pak border

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday reviewed the operational preparedness of the formations deployed on the Indo-Pakistan border during his visit to the Northern Command.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson on Saturday shared a picture of General Rawat looking across the border using binoculars and wrote, "Army Chief on Saturday looks across Line of Control into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. He reviewed the operational preparedness of the formations deployed on the Indo-Pakistan border during his visit to Northern Command on 30 and 31 August".

This was the first visit by the Army Chief to the Valley after the government abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

On Friday, the Army Chief accomped by the Chinar Corps Commander, Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon, visited the formations and units deployed along the Line of Control.

The Chief of Army Staff was briefed by the local Commanders on the existing cease-fire violations, ground situation and the measures taken. During his interaction with the soldiers on the ground, he lauded them for their high levels of morale and motivation, an official statement said.

He further reinforced the need to be prepared to meet emerging security challenges effectively in view of the increased infiltration attempts. He appreciated the robust counter-infiltration grid which has neutralised multiple infiltration attempts of terrorists.

He shared intelligence reports of a large number of terrorists ready to infiltrate from multiple launch pads across the Line of Control. He exhorted all troops to be ready for any contingencies, the statement added.

( With inputs from ANI )