Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-Chief), Northern Command on Friday said that all troops on the ground have be instructed that if Pakistan does not refrain from carrying out activities which are detrimental to India's interest, then it should be punished in the same capacity.
Singh said, "There have been snipping incidents across the Line Of Control (LOC) and we have regularly protested with our Pakistani counterparts about activity of snipping and wherever they have carried out any ceasefire violation we have given them befitting reply.T he message is clear to all troops on the ground that should Pakistan not stop from carrying out any activity which is detrimental to our national interest along the LOC, they should be punished accordingly."
He further underscored that despite Pakistan's desperate attempts, the security forces have been able to successfully foil all infiltration bids across the Line of Control (LoC).
"Attempt of infiltration have been going on along the Line of Control (LOC) but Army has been able to thwart all the attempts. There have been reports of activities of terrorists in the south of Pir Panjal but these are isolated incidents and we have been able to check and arrest any kind of movement in the region and people of the area know the dividends of peace in the area and have helped the army in keeping it this way. I want to thank people for this as well," he said.
Lt Gen Singh also claimed there has been a decline in the number of youth joining militancy and opined that the army will make sure that the status in this regard improves in the future.
Further sharing details on the Panchayat poll preparedness, Singh assured that adequate security measures have been taken and expressed hope that people would be able to come out and vote in a free and fair manner.
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"Panchayat elections are an important part of our democratic process. All the details of security measures have been tied up and we have had meetings at all the levels. We are hopeful of having a secure environment and people should be able to come out to vote in free and fair manner."
Later replying to a question on Foreign military attaches of different countries, being allowed to visit the banned areas of Ladakh for the first time, he said, "This is part of an outreach programme at the national level and people have come and seen the situation in Ladakh and have felt satisfied with the situation and activities of the Government and the state and the security forces ".
He also shared that the military exercise with China has been part of regular confidence-building measures between the two armies.