SRINAGAR, Jan 14: Regarding the circumstances around the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh area, a senior Army general stated on Sunday that while the northern border is stable, it is “not normal.” The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, stated that negotiations are in progress for the remaining five of the seven points of friction in eastern Ladakh, where the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA have been engaged in a standoff since May 2020. He informed reporters in this location, “The northern border area is stable but it is not normal or I can say it’s sensitive.”The Army general seemed to be referring to Pakistan when he indicated that the bordering nation planned the terrorist attacks in the Poonch-Rajouri area because they were against the current development efforts taking place in this area. The Poonch-Rajouri area saw improvements in prosperity for its residents. People were obtaining jobs and investments were flowing in. This climate of peace and prosperity did not sit well with our adjacent countries. They have been encouraging militancy in the area because of this, but we have countered them,” he stated, sounding confident that they will put an end to militant activity in the near future. According to Lt Gen Dwivedi, there needs to be more collaboration in the area between the military, police, and locals.“We are increasing the number of police stations and also implementing some reorientation.” We can better handle the issue with this,” he stated. 2023 has been dubbed a “zero-infiltration year,” according to the Army commander, as no terrorist was able to cross the Line of Control. That being said, a lot of terrorists are on their way. We’ve already acted. As you can see, out of the 55 terrorists slain last year, just 21 were foreign nationals. There were 121 terrorist recruits in 2022, but just 19 in 2023, he said reporters. He claimed that after Article 370 was repealed, Jammu and Kashmir has seen several improvements.The last four years have seen a great deal of change. And every shift, whether it be in terms of outside investments, tourist arrivals, or infrastructure development, has been positive. In general, the public benefits, and Jammu and Kashmir is contributing significantly to the development of the nation, he stated. He was in Srinagar to participate in a Veterans Day ceremony for the armed forces. Every year on January 14, the Armed Forces Veterans’ Day is observed in remembrance of the day in 1953 when Field Marshal K M Cariappa, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, officially retired from the army.
