Srinagar: Asserting that Kashmir was “peaceful and stable”, a top Army officer Thursday said that sustaining this peaceful atmosphere however was a big challenge and as such reducing the footprints of security forces is not recommended at this stage.
Speaking at a press conference, General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, who is relinquishing the command of the formation to take over as the next Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), said Kashmir has had a “good year” and sustaining this peace is the biggest challenge for the security forces.
“I am sanguine that the situation in the Kashmir Valley is peaceful and stable and that the Chinar Corps, over the last 16 months that I have been at the helm, has tried valiantly hard to guard our borders, negate numerous attempts at infiltration by inimical elements, while also simultaneous(ly) prosecuting a very robust and successful counter-terrorist campaign within the Kashmir Valley,” he said.
Over the last one-and-half years, there were numerous significant events here and a lot of development in the region, Lt Gen Ghai said.
“This has been facilitated by a stable security situation brought about by very significant efforts put in by Chinar Corps and its sister agencies like the J&K Police, CAPFs, and numerous other security agencies,” he said.
“Today, as I am about to leave, I realise that the region is at the cusp of the new beginning,” he added.
The senior Army officer further said that terrorism today is “largely fuelled from across the border”.
“We have not had any active recruitment in the last year-and-a-half. The numbers last year were down to a dozen. This year, they are almost next to nil.
“If you look at the four-five incidents that we have had in the Valley this year, softer targets have been picked where it is easy for a person to wield a pistol or a smaller weapon to carry out such an atrocity. But the numbers are almost negligible,” he said.
The challenge for the security forces now, the GoC said, is to maintain this situation.
“Kashmir has had a good year, just as it did last year, and we need a few more good years… for the peace to be enduring and lasting and that I feel is the biggest challenge for the security forces to be able to keep the situation the way it is today,” he said.
Asked if there was any chance of reducing the footprints of troops in the Valley due to the “peaceful” situation, the officer said it was not recommended at this stage.
“We need a few more good years like the ones we have had from 2022-24. For this peace to be enduring and lasting, we need to go through this process for a few more years.
“Therefore, whether it is the counter-infiltration grid or the counter-terrorism grid, it has to be maintained and sustained because we are possibly in the consolidation phase and no dilution of the grid is recommended,” he said.
“I definitely am not a proponent of that at this stage,” he asserted.
Responding to a question about the number of active terrorists in the Valley, Lt Gen Ghai said there are approximately 80.
“That is the lowest number in many years. When I came here last year, we were looking at the numbers past the 100 mark. That figure has come down,” he said.
“It has been the endeavour of the security forces to actively and aggressively bring these numbers down and we have succeeded.
“I am quite confident that the way we are going ahead, we are prosecuting our operations in a manner where we are utilising every means at our behest, these numbers will keep going down. We could be looking at a lesser number by the middle of next year,” the officer said.
Lt Gen Ghai also said that the Army is working on a proposal to relocate the villages ahead of the fence along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir as it is “necessary” to safeguard the lives of people.
“Yes, there is a lot of thought going into this. We already have blueprints in place, but it requires cooperation and synergy with the civil administration because various aspects are involved in such a move,” the GoC said.
He said while security is always a concern, “we cannot ignore the socio-economic factors that affect these people”.
“Therefore, a plan is evolving, and I am sure it will unfold in the near future because it is necessary,” he added.
Lt Gen Ghai said the safety of the people in those areas is a matter of concern and also the development in such areas is possibly constrained by the geographical locations.
“While there is a ceasefire understanding today, during times of cross-border shelling or firing, the safety of these people is also a concern. So, this is definitely an endeavour, and it is a work in progress. There is a plan being deliberated on,” he said.
Lt Gen Ghai also said that the ceasefire with Pakistan along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir has sustained and exceptions to any activity taken by the other side are brought to notice through various means.
When the ceasefire understanding with Pakistan came into effect at the beginning of the year 2021, the situation was tenuous on the northern borders with China. “At that point in time, the two countries (India and Pakistan) felt that it was the most apt thing to do so that tensions could be kept under the threshold as far as the LoC (Line of Control) and the western borders are concerned,” he said.
“There are certain tenets to that ceasefire understanding which both sides follow. Every now and then, if any of the sides has any exception to any activity that may have been prosecuted by the other side, those are brought to notice through various means.
“There are hotlines on the LoC. The two DGMOs (director generals of military operations) have access to each other and these are routinely brought to each other’s notice. But the ceasefire understanding has sustained and is still very much in force,” he added.
To a question about infiltration attempts being made along the LoC, the GoC said the counter-infiltration grid of the security forces is strong.
He said the fence or Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) is technically enabled and numerous attempts of infiltrations have been rendered unsuccessful.
“This year, we saw that there were people at the launchpads and we had intelligence inputs that they will make attempts, but there were not many attempts this summer. What is the reason for that?
“It is obvious that infiltration can occur at places other than the LoC and perhaps it has taken place this year. That is why the numbers have increased in the Jammu region because the areas were always peaceful,” he said.
Acknowledging there might be some change in the strategy by the terrorists, Lt Gen Ghai said while the Army expected infiltration bids in the valley, “successful bids took place at other places”.
“That is why the numbers increased a bit. But I am confident that the number will decrease soon as we have been getting intelligence of those,” he added. (With inputs from PTI)
‘Army will soon be able to crack encrypted handsets used by terrorists’
Top Army officer in Kashmir valley Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai on Thursday said the Army would soon be “able to crack” encrypted handsets used by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to reporters here, Lt Gen Ghai acknowledged that the ‘Ultra’ communication was giving secrecy to terror groups but he assured that the work is in progress.
“Ultra communication has various layers of encryption and presently, it is affording them the secrecy that they want. But I assure you that work is happening in that regard and soon we will be able to crack that encryption and I am hoping that will further dent the terrorist ecosystem network,” Lt Gen Ghai said in his last press conference as commander of valley-based XV Corps.
To a question about weaponisation of mobile phones used in Israel-Lebanon conflict, he said, “Every time a new method is employed by any military force across the world, we always take note of it to draw our own lessons, so we can incorporate what is relevant to us and prepare our army and armed forces accordingly.”
“What we are seeing unfold in the Middle East (West Asia) is obviously a new trend, and the manner in which it is unfolding is quite unique. Therefore, we will certainly analyze it, put it into perspective, and come to conclusions about what is relevant and how it could affect us,” he added.
The Ultra sets were recovered from some of the encounters in the Kashmir valley.
These specialised handsets, exclusively customised by Chinese companies for the Pakistan army, were seized after a gunfight in the intervening night of July 17-18 last year in the Sindarah top area of Surankote in Jammu region’s Poonch district and on April 26 this year after an encounter at the Check Mohalla Nowpora area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The ‘Ultra’ handsets, which have also been found in the south of the Pir Panjal region, combine cell-phone capabilities with specialised radio equipment that does not rely on traditional mobile technologies like Global System for Mobile or Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA).
The device operates on radio waves for message transmission and reception, with each ‘Ultra’ set linked to a control station located across the border, officials said and added that the two ‘Ultra’ sets cannot reach out to each other.
They said Chinese satellites are used to carry these messages that are compressed to bytes from the handset to the master server in Pakistan for its onward transmission.
This is yet another help being extended by China to its key ally Pakistan, the officials said.
