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'Will carry out any order by government': Top Army officer on taking back PoK
Dwivedi, meanwhile, also said that there were around 300 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir at this time, with another 160 waiting for an opportunity to cross the LoC and sneak into India.
A top army commander on Tuesday reacted to defence minister Rajnath Singh's recent statement hinting at retrieving parts of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan and underlined that a parliamentary resolution exists on the subject and that it is 'nothing new'.
"As far as the Indian Army is concerned, it will carry out any order given by the government of India. We are always ready for it," Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command, was quoted by news agency ANI.
He was reacting to Rajnath Singh's statement from October 27 - at an infantry day function in Srinagar - at which he had said people in Kashmir areas illegally occupied by Pak were subject to human rights violations and that Islamabad would someday have to pay the price.
The minister also said the Narendra Modi government is committed to the 1994 Parliament resolution about retrieving parts of Kashmir that are 'under illegal occupation of Pakistan'
Dwivedi, meanwhile, also said that there were around 300 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir at this time, with another 160 waiting for an opportunity to cross the LoC and sneak into India.
However, he noted the security situation in the erstwhile state - converted to a union territory after the Modi government scrapped Article 370 - had undergone a major change and that terrorist activities had been controlled to a large extent. He lauded local government officials for ensuring peace and development and combatting terrorism.
"All the trend lines which were there, are coming down (post abrogation of Article 370), to the extent, and today peace and development has taken the central stage and there is a great space to meet the people's aspirations. The civil administration is doing a great job in occupying that space and making sure that terrorism is put on a back seat," he said.
The commander also denounced the targeted and selective killings of civilians. "The people from outside, the neighbouring country, are adopting other means like smuggling pistols, grenades and drugs to carry out minor actions -- targeting innocent and unarmed persons who have come here to earn their livelihood and support the Kashmiris," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
