Jammu, May 6: General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command of the Army, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday said that it might be the political compulsion of the politicians to question operations in Kashmir.
The Northern Command Chief was addressing media on the sidelines of North Tech symposium 2022 in Udhampur in which the Indian Defence Industry, DRDO, DPSUs, Academia, HQ IDS, Army HQ, HQ ARTRAC, other Commands and Cat A Ests participated.
The event was attended by the GOCs from Corps and Divs, officers from formations /units of Northern Command, officers from HQ Northern Command, local units and others.
“I feel it may be a political necessity for them (politicians) but the whole country knows that the Army is the most trusted organisation today even in the world,” he said in response to a question asked about his opinion on the way politicians are commenting on the operations being carried out by the Army.
“As far as political comments are concerned, if it is put up in my line of thinking. First of all, the answer is no. What it means, I should be able to convince the politicians by trusted and transparent cooperations, by life study of the actions which are taking place because if I do that, even if someone says anything, the common mass that is there has seen themselves what is correct and what is wrong. Therefore, social media conveys this kind of message of transparency to the man who has to make the decision,” he said.
“We are having contact programmes with the media journalists who are the ones who interpret a particular operation in a neutral way because of their own trustworthiness and the reach which they have with the complete country. If they are able to translate into the correct manner, the others may say anything it does not make any difference,” he added.
WHEN DDC MEMBERS WILL MOVE WITHOUT SECURITY IN KASHMIR THEN AFSPA WILL GO
To a question on withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA), he reacted: “AFSPA will automatically go the day when District Development Committee (DCC) members can go home without security and officials move without armed guards in the city amid absence of paramilitary presence on roads and feeling of normalcy in the air,”
He also accused the foreign terrorists operating in Kashmir for using teenagers as human shields. He referred to the mothers who pledge youngsters to surrender as foreign terrorists are using them (local terrorists) as human shields.
3 CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS ON LoC IN 11 MONTHS
He said that the situation on the Line of Control is stable as the understanding is working well. In the last 11 months, only two to three ceasefire violations have taken place while the counter infiltration grid is foolproof.
To a question, he responded that six major and 21 minor terror camps exist across the border with the involvement of Pakistan army and agencies which cannot be denied.
He said that “even if attempts are being made through mountains, forests, some try to come to the Punjab or Nepal route our aim is to identify and neutralise them.”
He said that around 200 terrorists are waiting across the border on the launch pad and 40 to 50 local terrorists are active in Kashmir (J&K).
He said that the shelter provided to foreign terrorist has gone down (in Kashmir) that was the reason that more foreign terrorists are getting killed by the security forces in Kashmir and added that the local terrorists are less trained.
“The local terrorists are only having pistol,” he added.
Although the situation on the Line of Actual Control is stable, normal yet the “heightened alertness is being observed by the Army with adequate deployment of force and equipment to stop any misadventure from an adversary,” he added.
To a question he further said that they have stopped the system of body push and instead, established a hotline to reach an amicable solution (referring to LAC).