When the Indian Army Chief,Gen.
Bikram Singh,visited recently some
forward areas in Jammu and Kashmir his aim was to give specific instructions to the field commanders and the soldiers on ways and means they need to adopt in dealing with the situation that has been the product of intermittent ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops.In fact the basic purpose of the : Army Chief General Bikram Singh was to pull up the commanders of formations deployed in Poonch sector of Line of Control in the wake of two major raids by the Pakistan Army special troops in Indian territory during the last eight months. During the visit to the LoC to review the security situation after the killing of five Indian soldiers in Poonch , the Army Chief pulled up the formation commanders there.In the earlier incident on January 8, the troops of Pakistan's Special Services Group (SSG) had entered Indian territory and killed two Indian soldiers and beheaded one of them. After the January incident, the Army Chief had asked his formation commanders to adopt an aggressive stance on the LoC and asked them to respond immediately in case of provocations by Pakistan Army. "I expect my commanders to be aggressive in the face of firing," Gen Singh had said.Hence his purpose of visiting the border belt was to infuse confidence among the troops,deployed on the LOC and issue specific guidelines to the soldiers and their officers on means they need to adopt for putting a halt to the repeated ceasefire violations by the Pak troops.
And rightly or wrong Gen.Singh's Pak counterpart, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani,has emulated the Indian Arm Chief when Kayani visited the border area in Kotli. Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Tuesday visited the LoC to assess the security situation in the wake of violations of a ceasefire in the region over the past few weeks.Kayani visited Kotli sector of the Line of Control, an area that has witnessed heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops.Official sources said the powerful army chief visited the LoC to personally assess the security situation and to be briefed by top commanders. Kayani also met soldiers posted along the LoC and appreciated their bravery, the sources said.Despite a truce put in place along the LoC in November 2003, intermittent skirmishes have continued along the heavily militarized ceasefire line.The situation heated up on August 6, when five Indian soldiers were killed in an attack on the Indian side of the LoC.Since then, both sides have accused each other of violating the truce. At least four Pakistani soldiers, including a captain, have been killed in recent weeks.The tensions on the LoC have affected bilateral ties even though back channel talks are on to restore normalcy.
Well there is nothing wrong in Kayani's visit to the forward areas.But the level of mischief in the mind of Kayani seems to have caused a bit of worry in New Delhi.And those who are aware of the mischief potential in Kayani do not hesitate saying that Pak troops may kick up added conflict on the border in order to help Kayani to achieve his aim of scuttling the chances for the resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue process.Since Nawaz Sharif tookover as Prime Minister of Pakistan both the Army and the ISI top brass have been opposed to the resumption of bilateral dialogue. Motivated by terrorists,operating in Pakistan,and the extremists both the Army and the ISI top functionaries want to keep on bleeding India by providing moral,material and diplomatic aid to militants,operating in Jammu and Kashmir and in other Indian states.It is in this connection that the Pakistani troops continue to provide assistance to terrorists, brought on the launch pads,to cross into Jammu and Kashmir.Series of ceasefire violations are also aimed at providing safe passage for militants who plan to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir.Once would treat it substantial change if Kayani's visit to the border belt results in sudden end to ceasefire violations by the Pak troops.Possibilities seem to be remote and in case the border experienced some added flare-up Kayani should be held responsible for that. |
