Terrorist camps, launch pads in PoK ‘full’: Lt Gen Raju
| Date :01-Jun-2020 |
General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, Lt Gen BS Raju and Director General of Police J&K, Dilbag Singh after a meeting of the Core Group to strategise security of the region in
Srinagar on Saturday. (ANI)
By Sumir Kaul
NEW DELHI,
Back of terrorism has been ‘virtually broken’ and Pakistan is unable to ‘digest’ Kashmiris are experiencing peace. Indian Army’s response to ceasefire violations by Pakistan is swift and hard, says Lt Gen Raju
ALL the terrorist camps and around 15 launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) “are full”, according to top Army commander Lt Gen B S Raju, who anticipates an increase in infiltration attempts from across the border this summer to replenish the diminishing terrorist cadres in Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview to PTI, Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju asserted that the back of terrorism has been “virtually broken” and that Pakistan is unable to “digest” that Kashmiris are experiencing peace and an improved law and order situation. Lt Gen Raju took over the reins of strategically located XV Corps in Srinagar on March 1.
“The back of terrorism is virtually broken. Because of the successes in eliminating terrorists operating in the hinterland, we expect cross-border infiltration to increase in the summer season to make up for the dead terrorists. I anticipate more and more attempts to replenish the depleting cadres, as the window for infiltration is also restricted to the summer season only,” Lt Gen Raju said in an e-mail interview. “All the terrorist camps and around 15 launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are full. These terrorist cadres are desperate to infiltrate with the help of Pakistani Army.”
Stating that Pakistan has consistently been aiding and abetting infiltration for more than 30 years now, the General said there have been several ceasefire violations (CFVs) by Pakistani army to support the infiltrating terrorist groups, but added such designs have been frustrated as “our befitting response to ceasefire violations has been swift, hard and punitive”. He also spoke about the Army’s counter-infiltration grid being fortified which, along with, “our effective response to ceasefire violations has left Pakistan helpless in furthering their agenda.”
An NDA alumni from the 1984-batch, Lt Gen Raju, who earlier served as the Brigade commander along the Line of Control (LoC), and later led the “Victor Force”, a counter-insurgency group of the Army that looks after the militancy-hit south Kashmir region, also sent a clear message that those having any evil design “against our country” should shun such ambitions.
‘Core group of security forces reviews situation in Valley’
SRINAGAR,
May 31 (PTI)
A CORE group of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday reviewed the prevailing situation in the Valley and discussed measures to effectively deal with various challenges, including the increasing infiltration bids from Pakistan and calibrated increase in terror attacks in the hinterland, said the Army. Against the backdrop of the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, Lt Gen B S Raju and J&K Director General of Dilbag Singh, co-chaired a meeting of the core group consisting of top officials of the civil administration, intelligence agencies and security forces here, an Army spokesman said. He said the meeting was to review the security situation and ensure readiness to meet the anticipated security challenges. The core group focussed on the need for high-level of synergy among all agencies in addressing the security concerns of Kashmir, he said. “Intelligence inputs indicate that Pakistan had intensified its efforts to increase infiltration and ceasefire violations across the Line of Control. There is also an effort to achieve a calibrated increase in terrorist actions in the hinterland.