AIOS put in place along LoC, IB
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 4: Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said today that Pakistan has suffered very high number of casualties in retaliatory firing by the Indian Army along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and declared that the troops were totally dominating the western borders with Pakistan.
Replying to series of questions in Lok Sabha during Question Hour pertaining to ceasefire violations along LoC, infiltration attempts by the militants etc, Jaitley, the Finance Minister, who holds additional charge of the Defence Ministry, said the infiltration attempts by the militants, most of which were aided and abetted by the Pakistani troops, have increased along LoC in Kashmir but our alert troops have foiled majority of such bids inflicting casualties on militants.
“Army is in total command of the situation along western borders i.e. Pakistan. All anti-infiltration measures are in place. A new kind of Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) has also been introduced, both along LoC and International Border (IB),” he said in an exhaustive reply to the questions pertaining to LoC situation and anti-infiltration measures along LoC with Pakistan.
Jaitley said: “our troops are in complete control of the situation and were dominating the borders. They have inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistan during anti-infiltration measures as well as retaliating to the ceasefire violations”.
Admitting increase in the infiltration attempts from Pakistan this year on the LoC, the Defence Minister, however, said that majority of these intrusion bids have been successfully thwarted by the Army inflicting casualties on militants and Pakistan.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan had violated ceasefire number of times in the past three months in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. In retaliation, Indian troops had inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistani troops as well as destroying their posts and bunkers.
Elaboration on AIOS along the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, the Defence Minister said: “radars, sensors and thermal imagers along with surveillance have been incorporated on the fence to detect and intercept infiltration by terrorists.
“The AIOS is further strengthened by deployment of troops and construction of defence works based on threat perception for an effective multi-tiered counter-infiltration grid.”
Jaitley said fortification of border is a continuous process.
“Anti- infiltration steps like obstacle systems, technical gadgets have been installed by the Army and enough steps have been taken to check infiltration,” he added and said all these measures have yielded goods results in curbing the infiltration attempts on LoC and eliminating the militants.
Regarding threat perception on the borders, Jaitley said the Government keeps on reviewing the threat perception to secure the borders and protect national interests.
“This is a continuous process. Threat perceptions are reviewed regularly and appropriate measures are taken accordingly to secure the borders,” he added.
He said appropriate measures are taken from time-to-time to maintain and upgrade the country’s defence preparedness along the border to safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of India.
Further, the areas along the borders are kept under surveillance by regular patrolling by troops and other aerial, optronic and electronic means.
The Defence Minister said there have been 285 incidents of ceasefire violation so far this year through the LoC compared to 228 such incidents in the entire 2016 along the LoC in which eight people had lost their lives, Jaitley said.
He said there were 221 ceasefire violations along the International Border which is guarded by both the Border Security Force and the Army.
“Appropriate retaliation to the ceasefire violations and other tactical incidents by Pakistan Army, as required, is carried out by Indian Army. All the forward posts are adequately strengthened to withstand enemy fire. Besides, there are well-established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to safeguard against enemy fire to minimize own casualties,” Jaitley said.
He said the Government is taking measures to ensure modernization of Indian defence forces to keep them in a state of readiness to meet operational and security challenges.
“This is being achieved by inducting new equipment, technologically upgrading existing equipment and systems, training etc. It will not be in the national interests to divulge further details,” he said.
In reply to another question, Jaitley said the Government has enhanced special allowances given to defence personnel serving in difficult areas like Siachen.
He said recently the Government has announced the special allowances for defence personnel which were more than what the 7th Pay Commission had recommended.
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