Army chief Bipin Rawat visits LoC posts in J&K, tells troops to be prepared

9 soldiers were among 11 people killed while 16 were injured in cross border firing month along LoC

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Army chief General Bipin Rawat Friday visited LoC posts in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir and directed the troops to remain prepared to counter the nefarious designs of the "adversary".

Rawat, who arrived on a two-day visit to the Jammu region this morning, reviewed the operational preparedness of the forces posted along the Line of Control (LoC), where there have several instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces in the recent past.

He complimented the troops for their efforts and reiterated the need to remain ever prepared to counter the nefarious designs of the adversary, an official said.

The chief of Army staff, accompanied by northern Army Commander Lt Gen D Anbu visited the White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness and the prevailing security situation, a defence spokesman said.

The Army chief was briefed by Lt Gen A K Sharma, GOC, about the preparedness of White Knight Corps in dealing with the emerging and dynamically changing security situation and the measures taken to thwart any misadventure by inimical forces, he said.

"The COAS also visited Rajouri wherein he was briefed on the operational readiness by the GOC Ace of Spades division," the spokesman said.

The Army chief visited forward posts along the LoC where he was briefed on the actions being undertaken to ensure a robust counter infiltration grid, he added.

The Army chief arrived around 10 am and flew to forward areas along LoC in Rajouri-Poonch belt, where he reviewed the security situation along the LoC in the wake of the recent heavy shelling by Pakistan army.

Nine soldiers were among 11people killed while 16 others were injured in cross border firing month along the LoC in J&K.

The month also saw over 110 livestock falling prey to shelling and firing by Pakistani Army in which nearly 35 structures, including over two dozen houses, were damaged along the LoC in Rajouri district alone.

Over 4,000 villagers have been moved to government camps at safer places in the district.

There has been an increase in the ceasefire violations in the past few months. Pakistan troops violated ceasefire 83 times in June and 79 times in the month of May.