 "Situation along LoC can escalate anytime, Indian Army prepared: Bipin Rawat")
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday said that the situation along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir can escalate any time and the Army is ready for any "escalatory matrix".
His remarks came in the backdrop of spurt in ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC since the abrogation of Article 370 in August.
"The situation along the Line of Control can escalate any time. The Indian Army is always ready for escalatory matrix," the Army Chief said.
Gen. Rawat played a key role in pursuing a policy of hot pursuit in dealing with cross border terrorism in the Valley after he took over as Army Chief on December 31, 2016.
He is due to retire on December 31 but it is likely that he will be appointed as India's first Chief of Defence Staff.
According to assessment by the security forces, though the situation in the Valley has been brought under control to a large extent, a cautious approach is still required so that the atmosphere is not allowed to be vitiated.
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Sources said the situation in Kashmir is being closely monitored and each and every step is being taken based on realistic assessment.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy had told Lok Sabha last month that "950 incidents of ceasefire violation along the LoC from across the border were reported during August 2019 to October 2019".
The sources said Pakistan's Border Action Teams (BAT) are attempting to target Indian security personnel on a regular basis along the LoC.
The BAT generally comprises special forces personnel of the Pakistani Army and terrorists. There have been incidents of BAT mutilating bodies of Indian security force personnel.
Pakistan is carrying out BAT operations at an interval of 3-4 days, the sources said.