Army chief expresses hope about the betterment of ties.
Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat on Tuesday played down Pakistan's activity in the LoC post abrogation of Section 370 by New Delhi. Bipin Rawat said, "If the adversary wants to activate the LoC, that's his choice. Everybody does a precautionary deployment, we should not get too concerned about it. As far as the Army and other services are concerned, we have to be always prepared."
On Monday, Eid was celebrated in a muted but peaceful manner amidst tight security cover. In some places, securitymen were seen exchanging sweets with commoners. Regarding future course of relationship of the armed forces with the citizens of Kashmir valley, Army chief expressed optimism. Bipin Rawat said, "The bonhomie we had with people in the 70s-80s, we want the same again. We were deployed there, and we used to meet without guns, and if everything goes well, we will again meet without guns."
Insurgency started in Kashmir around 1987 and reached its peak in the early 90s and continues till date with varying level of intensity throughout the years.
Amid the ongoing tensions with Pakistan over the abrogation of Article 370, the Indian intelligence agencies along with the Air Force and Army are keeping a close watch on the movement of the Pakistani Air Force. According to a news report, Pakistani forces have started moving equipment to their forward bases close to Ladakh.
"Three C-130 transport aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force were used on Saturday to ferry equipment to their Skardu airbase near Ladakh. The Indian agencies concerned are keeping a close eye on the movement of Pakistanis along with the border areas," government sources said. Sources said the equipment moved to the forward operating base could be support equipment for fighter aircraft operations.
Pakistanis are most likely to move in their JF-17 fighter planes to the Skardu airfield, they said. The Pakistanis use an older version of the C-130 transport aircraft supplied by the Americans a long time ago and one of their military rulers Gen Zia Ul Haq was also killed in power when the C-130 in which he was travelling crashed in August 1988 due to a bomb explosion.
(With ANI inputs)
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