Ahead of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, army on Monday said that the infiltration attempts along the Line of Control are on with the militants employing a "desperate" trend by pushing in IEDs and huge cache of weapons in the state.
General Bajwa gets inputs from his senior officers, but he has the final word, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Over 200 heavily armed militants were waiting across the Line of Control to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir, a senior army officer on Monday said but asserted that troops are fully geared to thwart their nefarious designs.
'It's a matter of great pride that no student of Army Goodwill Schools has ever joined terrorism.'
The encounter took place at Aribagh in Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar, the official said.
"As temperatures go up and the snow starts melting, our neighbouring country Pakistan tries to push more and more terrorists into our land. But our army is alert (to scuttle the attempts)," General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 corps Lt Gen Om Prakash told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Rangreth.
Suhag has filed an affidavit in Supreme Court, accusing the minister of trying to scuttle his promotion to the appointment of army commander.
Bodies of all the five soldiers were flown to their home towns after the wreath-laying ceremonies, the spokesman said.
Major General B S Raju said a full scale cordon-and-search operation, like the one conducted in Shopian recently, will be carried out only in places where the army's operations are hampered.
Pakistani troops continued breaching the ceasefire along the LoC for the fourth successive day on Saturday by resorting to unprovoked firing and shelling, while two persons have been injured and several houses damaged in Jammu region overnight due to the violation.
Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime chief Monirul Islam said they got information that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh chief Musa along with some other JMB terrorists are in Sylhet.
Around 200 heavily armed militants were waiting across the Line of Control to infiltrate into the Indian side even as the security forces foiled several attempts by the ultras to sneak into KashmirValley following the recent floods.
The Army on Sunday said it had enough evidence to show that the six terrorists who carried out the attack on an Army camp in Uri belonged to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and were supported by the Pakistani establishment.
The Army on Monday said that the Lashkar-e-Islam group which was behind the attacks on mobile towers in the Valley appears to be a "fringe" element, adding that such threats were investigated seriously.
Major General B S Raju, the head of Victor Force that performs counter-insurgency operations in five districts of south Kashmir, says a great deal of political sagacity is needed to ensure that a lasting solution to the decades-long separatist problem is found.
The waving of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria flags in Kashmir is a matter of concern and "deserves the highest attention of the security agencies" so that the Valley youth are prevented from being lured into the ranks of the jihadist organisation, a top army official said on Wednesday.
After shelling border hamlets along the Line of Control in Poonch, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy firing of mortar bombs, small and automatic weapons in Jammu region overnight leaving two persons injured.
Army on said militant activities at the launching pads across the Line of Control have not died down but the troops are ready to face the challenge.
It said the prime minister of Pakistan has neither chosen to condemn the heinous act nor condoled with the bereaved families.
Security forces pounded the building of Entrepreneurship Development Institute since Monday after three militants barged inside the complex with the aim of engaging the law enforcing agencies.
The Corps Commander, who heads the army in Kashmir, was replying to a question about the possibility of the Islamic State forging an alliance with the militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad for expanding its activities to the valley.
With flood waters receding, the armed forces have stepped up its rescue operations in Jammu and Kashmir
'Those who say the Indian Army is persecuting Kashmiris... I will tell them that the reality is that the Kashmiri loves the fauj and what all the Indian Army has done.'
The army has launched a major anti-infiltration operation against militants and suspected Pakistan special troops holed up in an area in Keran sector along Line of Control in which five Indian soldiers have been injured.
'The debate is not whether the Indian defence apparatus is in a state of disrepair, but whether it is capable of securing the defence of the country if any envisaged threat becomes real.'
'By extending its support to the LeT, China is not helping the cause of containment and eventual destruction of radicalism and terror.'
The Pampore attack in Jammu and Kashmir "appeared to be" the handiwork of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror outfit, Central Reserve Police Force Director General Prakash Mishra said.
'The public has unfair expectations from Mrs Swaraj who is in Islamabad primarily for the Heart of Asia Conference. To restore India's position among stakeholders on Afghanistan is a fair one but to expect her to do more on the Indo-Pak front without requisite preparatory work is unrealistic.'
'To re-establish the writ of the State and resume governance, frayed tempers in the streets and in the media need to be calmed.'
'The scope of cordon and search operations has changed drastically.' 'Operations are now more focused, intelligence driven and involve very small cordons with minimum inconvenience to the people.' 'This has been the humanisation of conflict.' 'It has come to be institutionalised in the army's concept.' 'General Rawat has been schooled in this thinking and when he makes a statement it is with full consciousness of the institutionalised concept,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), the former GOC 15 Corps in Srinagar and the officer acclaimed as the 'People's General'.
'India needs to deeply introspect on the costs of pursuing peace with Pakistan,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'Pakistan thinks it is winning this low intensity conflict.' 'It is a serious observation. Half the battle is convincing your adversary that he cannot make headway.' 'A lot depends on how the internal professional management of the army and the handling of situations that are bound to rise sooner than later in his command, are done.'
'Let people across the LoC see the resolve of Bharat and the contribution of the Indian Security Forces in rebuilding the Valley. Let disaster become the rallying point for integration -- not only of society but also of all the instruments of State,' says General Anil Chait (retd).
The recent breach of ceasefire by Pakistan was aimed at infiltrating Lashkar-e-Tayiba cadres into Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the polls and to bring Kashmir issue back into limelight, as the neighbouring country was feeling isolated with the growing clout of India in the international forum, according to security experts.
'The strategy has to be restoring order in one part and countering the very effective propaganda through a very nimble monitoring and response system,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, who retired as the General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps.
On Monday, Colonel Rai had won the Yudh Seva medal. A day later, he fell to bullets.
'Had they struck on the night of the 1st, there would have been hell to pay and had they been able to sneak further in, we would have had a greater problem,' says Lieutenant General H S Panag (retd), the former Northern Army Commander.
'What should worry India and which needs to be expressed is Russia's simultaneous proximity to both China and Pakistan from a strategic angle. That hasn't happened ever before,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'How does one get to weaken all those pillars on which the Deep State of Pakistan and the Separatists rely to prevent the situation reaching that point; how must this stage of the proxy war be countered? In many ways the strategy being followed by the adversaries is a smart one, acting within threshold and avoiding overpitch,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'I am aware that mention of a threat to Gulmarg emanating from my perception may send negative signals to tourists but there are realities which need to be taken stock of.' 'Gulmarg is not far from Srinagar and is what the army calls in its parlance "a big name place." Such places draw attention much faster when negative incidents take place and give value of eyeball attraction.'
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