New Delhi: There are sufficient troops stationed at the India-Pakistan international border and the Line of Control to thwart any challenge from the neighbouring country, senior Army sources told ThePrint Monday.
The sources said the seasonal deployment of additional security forces made during the Amarnath Yatra — including the Army and Central Armed Police Forces — will remain in place for the time being.
The clarification comes amid the rumoured possibility of Pakistan redeploying its troops from the border with Afghanistan to the Indian side, in the wake of the Narendra Modi government’s move to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.
Sources said any redeployment from Pakistan would be nothing more than political posturing — it would be Pakistan’s way of showing the US that as a result of a rise in tensions with India, the peace process with Afghanistan could take a hit.
After a spike in tensions with India in the last few weeks, Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday held a meeting of the national security committee, after the Pakistan Army alleged that India used cluster bombs to target the civilian population in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, an allegation that India denied.
Khan had met US President Donald Trump last month, with the latter offering to mediate on the Kashmir issue.
Also read: Modi govt had told US about plans to scrap Article 370 twice — last week and in February
Plan to counter expected violence
A source said the Indian Army is watching the situation in Jammu and Kashmir closely, adding that there could be an increase in violence and terror attacks in the near future as a fallout of the Modi government’s decision.
“We suspect the use of IEDs in such attacks, and there could be an increase in the number of suicide bombing incidents,” an Army officer said.
“We will strengthen our counter-insurgency grid, increase patrolling and dominate more areas at the LoC.”
ThePrint had earlier reported that the Army has been put on high alert along the LoC after multiple instances of ceasefire violations and infiltration bids in the last few days.
While the Ministry of Home Affairs has officially stated that 10,000 CAPF troops have been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, sources in the security establishment said around 45,000 troops are in place to quell any law-and-order problem that could arise.
Also read: How erasing Article 370 became an article of faith for RSS and BJP
Hope the author also educate us about how many days of war chest Pakistan has? Some info on the how much money they have to fund the war, say 2 weeks?
We lost our pilots because of our own mistakes than beyond enemy lines. Seniors must take the responsibility and make sure mishap never repeats .