Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 25: Top Army Commanders of the country today began thorough review of situation on country’s borders along Pakistan and China besides other neighbours and emerging strategic issues, security scenario and operational preparedness in the event of any kind of hostilities or to meet with internal security threats from the terrorists.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar opened the conference at Manekshaw Convention Centre in New Delhi in the presence of Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag and lauded the troops for defending the country’s borders with its neighbours including Pakistan and also coming to the rescue of civil administration in case of internal security problems.
He said the Army has successfully tackled the menace of terrorism in militancy-infested States in Jammu and Kashmir and North East and hoped that it would be able to tackle the emerging challenges vigorously and forcefully.
Parrikar called upon the Commanders to debate the situation along the country’s borders, hinterland, operational preparedness, emerging challenges in the current century especially with hostile neighbours and, above all, the threat of terrorism posed by terror groups, both old and new to safeguard lives and property of the people.
The Army Commanders’ conference will last six days till April 30 during which all aspects of Army’s strategy and preparedness would be discussed threadbare.
Top Commanders, who were attending the bi-annual conference included Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, Northern Command chief Lt Gen DS Hooda, Western Command chief Lt Gen KJ Singh, Eastern Command chief Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, Southern Command chief Lt Gen Vipin Rawat, South Western Command, Jaipur chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand and Army Training Command, Shimla head, Lt Gen P M Hariz among others.
In his opening remarks to the conference, Army chief Dalbir Singh Suhag called upon the Commanders for maintaining very high degree of vigil and operational along ‘disputed border’, an indirect reference to Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Jammu and Kashmir and other States.
Complementing the Army Commanders and troops for successfully executing various counter-terrorist operations recently while displaying due restraint, the Army chief stressed for expediting Army’s modernization and capability development initiatives.
He stressed on all Army Commanders to continuously monitor & maintain internal health, values and ethics in all formations and units.
The Army Commanders conference is the highest level meeting to discuss current internal and external strategic issues, review of operational preparedness of the Indian Army and aspects pertaining to training, administration, military technology and force modernization
Sources said top Commanders of the Army will discuss all strategic issues along Pakistan and China borders during their six-day session and strategy adopted for operational preparedness of the troops for twin war simultaneously though there was no such possibility going by the relations India had developed with China.
“Situation in Siachen sector, located in the icy heights of 18,442 feet from sea level, in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir and considered as very crucial from strategic point of view, will come up for special review especially with regard to the facilities for Army soldiers as 10 jawans were killed there in first week of February in snow avalanche,” sources said.
According to sources, the fast developing close relations between Pakistan and China, the two hostile neighbours of India, though Sino-Indian troops hadn’t exchange even a single bullet all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) spread over five Indian States, were issues of very deep concern for the Indian troops and will be debated by the Army Commanders, who want the forces to be ever prepared for the threat of war on twin fronts in future.
According to sources, the situation along borders with Pakistan and China especially in Jammu and Kashmir, where the borders with Pakistan remains active on one pretext or the other, will be main focus during the Army Commanders’ conference.
“Deployment of the troops, fencing along the borders, sophisticated gadgetry and taking infrastructure right up to the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Eastern Ladakh were top priority of the Army, which was suffering due to lack of adequate infrastructure especially along China borders in all five States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh,” they said, adding though the present Central Government has taken on top priority the building of infrastructure and other facilities for troops along the borders, Army wants the process to be expedited.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
