Army chief arrives ahead of Modi’s tour, to brief him on JK situation
4th Diwali in J&K, 3rd in last two years
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 3: Amidst stepped-up violence with 11 targeted civilians killings in the Kashmir valley and martyrdom of 11 soldiers in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow celebrate Diwali with Army soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district to boost their morale.
Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane reached here ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit and toured forward areas of Nowshera and Rajouri to review arrangements for Modi’s visit as well as operational preparedness of the troops.
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The Chief of Army Staff, Northern Command chief Lt Gen YK Joshi and General Officer Commanding (GOC) 16 Corps Lt Gen Manjinder Singh will be present during the Prime Minister’s visit to Nowshera sector and are likely to brief him on security situation in Jammu and Kashmir as well as on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
Modi is expected to land at Technical Airport in Jammu tomorrow morning from where he will fly to Nowshera sector in Rajouri district. He will address the troops and inter-act with them to boost their morale as the soldiers have been strictly guarding the LoC with Pakistan in twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. Though there has been ceasefire between India and Pakistan along LoC as well as IB since February 26 this year (after the two sides renewed ceasefire agreement), there has been no let up in infiltration attempts which is evident from Army operations at Bhatta Durrian in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district which today entered 24th day without any success.
Significantly, this is for the fourth time that the Prime Minister is celebrating Diwali festival with Army jawans in Jammu and Kashmir. After taking over as the Prime Minister in 2014, Modi has regularly been celebrating Diwali with troops on the frontiers–be it the Line of Control or International border with Pakistan or Line of Actual Control with China.
He had celebrated his first Diwali as the Prime Minister with troops in Siachen Glacier and flood victims in Kashmir on October 23, 2014. He visited Gurez sector in Bandipora sector of Kashmir on the LoC during Diwali on October 20, 2017. He celebrated third Diwali with troops in Jammu and Kashmir in Rajouri sector on October 27, 2019. Tomorrow’s Diwali will be his fourth in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in J&K and second after abrogation of special status of erstwhile State and its bifurcation into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
Last year, the Prime Minister had visited Jaisalmer in Rajasthan along International Border with Pakistan on the occasion of Diwali.
Though Modi will return to New Delhi in the afternoon, he is likely to be briefed on the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir by the Army chief who will accompany him to Nowshera sector along with the Northern Command chief and GOC Nagrota Corps.
Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir comes amidst surge in civilian killings and encounters last month which saw 11 civilians including non-locals losing their lives in the militancy-related incidents in Kashmir and 11 Army soldiers attaining martyrdom in three incidents in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.
Ahead of Modi’s visit, Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane carried out an aerial reconnaissance and visited forward areas in Nowshera and Rajouri sectors where he was briefed about the prevailing security situation along the LoC in the Jammu region by the top Army Commanders.
This is his second visit to Jammu division in the past over two weeks amid an ongoing operation against militants in a forest belt in twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, which is the longest in the recent past that entered 24th day today.
Gen Naravane arrived in Jammu on a two-day visit to review the security situation and operational preparedness, and immediately flew to Rajouri district, the officials said.
“General MM Naravane #COAS (Chief of Army Staff) is on a visit to Jammu region wherein he will be given an update on security situation & operational preparedness. #COAS will visit forward areas & interact with troops and commanders on ground,” the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army tweeted.
The ADGPI said the chief of Army staff carried out an aerial reconnaissance of forward areas in the Jammu region and was also briefed by the Commanders on ground on the prevailing security situation along the LoC.
Earlier, the Army chief conducted a two-day tour of the Jammu region on October 18 and 19, and reviewed the ground situation and the ongoing counter-infiltration operations.
He had also visited the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, where a massive operation to track down militants hiding in the forest areas of Mendhar, Surankote and Thannamandi has been going on since October 11.
The operation started in Surankote forest on October 11, following the martyrdom of five soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), and was subsequently extended to Mendhar to neutralise the fleeing militants where another encounter took place on October 14, leaving four soldiers, including another JCO, martyred.
Two more jawans including a Lieutenant were martyred in a blast new LoC at Kalal in Nowshera sector of Rajouri last week.
Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine militants in separate encounters.
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