Army chief says Pakistan’s military deployment along LoC is normal, no need to worry
Indian troops are ‘always prepared should anything go wrong’, General Bipin Rawat said.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said there was no need of concern over the deployment of military resources by Pakistan along the Line of Control in the last few days, PTI reported. Indian troops are “always prepared should anything go wrong”, Rawat said.
“That’s normal, everybody does precautionary deployment and movement of precautionary resources,” Rawat said at the sidelines of an event. “We should not get too concerned about it.”
Asked about the possibility of increased hostilities along the Line of Control in coming days, Rawat said: “If the adversary wants to activate the LoC, the choice is his.”
The past week has seen renewed tension in relations between India and Pakistan following New Delhi’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split it into two Union territories. Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India over Kashmir, condemned the decision as it considers the region to be disputed territory, and said it “would exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps”.
India maintains that the decision is an internal matter as Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country. In its response, Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended bilateral trade, and halted the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express train services between the two countries.
Unidentified officials told PTI that Pakistan may try to trigger unrest in the Kashmir Valley following the government’s decisions.