Army’s Northern Command chief Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday said that disengagement of troops at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh were still pending with China and they shall be taken up at the 17th corps commander-level meeting between the two armies.
On November 12, the Indian Army chief General Manoj Pande had said that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in eastern Ladakh was “stable but unpredictable”.
Addressing mediapersons on Poonch Link up Day celebrations at Poonch, the Northern Command chief said that both the countries reached a particular agreement at the 16th corps commander-level meeting.
“The 16th corps commander-level meeting took place somewhere between June and July and that time we reached a particular agreement. In September, we could actually execute with lot of ground understanding between the two divisional commanders and that is why nearly 15 issues were resolved. Now out of all the issues, we are looking at disengagement followed by de-escalation,” he said.
“Out of this disengagement, two issues, which are still pending, are Depsang and Demchok. That’s why we are going ahead with 17th corps commander-level meeting. The proposals have been received from both the sides. Now, it’s a matter of time when the dates will be fixed. Once we reach a mature understanding on these two issues, divisional commanders and the lower levels will coordinate with each other to make sure that the ground implementation of disengagement takes place,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Out of this disengagement, two issues, which are still pending, are Depsang and Demchok. That’s why we are going ahead with 17th corps commander-level meeting. The proposals have been received from both the sides. Now, it’s a matter of time when the dates will be fixed. Once we reach a mature understanding on these two issues, divisional commanders and the lower levels will coordinate with each other to make sure that the ground implementation of disengagement takes place,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}On defence minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement about retrieving PoJK vis-à-vis army’s preparedness, he said defence minister’s statement was a parliamentary resolution and, therefore, there was nothing new in it.
“It’s part of the parliamentary resolution. As far as the army is concerned, we will carry out any order, which is given to us by the Government of India and whenever such orders are given, we are always ready for them,” he said.
General Dwivedi also said that post abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, the Kashmir valley has undergone a major change.
“Kashmir has undergone a major change and all the trend lines, which were there, are coming down. The civil administration is doing a great job and making sure that the terrorism is put on a back seat,” he said.
He also said that the renewed truce deal with Pakistan on February 25, 2021, that was first signed in November 2003 has helped all the stakeholders, especially villagers on the borders.
“Government schemes are now reaching to the people on the border and the administration is able to reach out to them. I can say border areas are now more integrated,” he said.
‘300 terrorists active in J&K’
He said that a total of 300 terrorists that included 82 Pak terrorist and 53 local militants were active in J&K. He informed that the total figure also included around 170 unidentified militants.
“There are 82 Pakistani terrorists and 53 local ultras in J&K. What is worrying is that there are almost 170 unidentified militants listed with the army, who are assigned the task to conduct criminal activities,” he said.
He also said that there were 160 terrorists in various launch pads across the border.
Gen Dwivedi also informed that over 35% of youth who picked up gun to join terror outfits were below 20 years of age and remaining 75% were in the age group of 20 to 30 years.
He advised parents to keep a watch over their children.