Top Army Brass briefs DM on J&K Security, Amarnath Yatra arrangements
Jammu, Jun 21: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan that any future terror attack on Indian soil will have serious consequences on the country as Operation Sindoor is not over yet and India is ready to take any action against the menace.
Addressing troops of Udhampur-based northern command here after joining them on the occasion of International Yoga Day, the defence minister said Operation Sindoor conveyed a message to Pakistan that their “thousand cut” policy against India is not going to succeed.
“Operation Sindoor is not over yet… through this operation, we have told Pakistan that continuing terrorism against India will not be tolerated and the response will get from bad to worse,” Singh, flanked by Army chief Upendra Dwivedi, said.
Under Operation Sindoor, Indian Armed forces struck terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during the intervening night of May 6 and 7 in retaliation to Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead on April 22.
“Operation Sindoor was a natural progression of 2016 surgical strike and 2019 air strike (across the border). We conveyed to Pakistan that its policy of thousand cuts against India will not succeed.
“Any terror attack on the soil of India will prove disastrous for Pakistan. India is ready to take any type of action against terrorism,” Singh said.
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed by top Army brass on Saturday on the prevailing security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with a focus on border areas, anti-terrorist operations and the Amarnath Yatra scheduled to start next month, officials said.
Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command Lt Gen Pratik Sharma and other senior officers including commanding officers of all units attended the meeting at Udhampur-based northern command headquarters, they said.
Singh reached Udhampur headquarters of the northern command on a two-day visit on Friday and led the International Day of Yoga celebrations of the Armed Forces on Saturday morning, performing various asanas and breathing exercises with 2,500 soldiers.
After the yoga session, the top Army brass briefed the defence minister on the prevailing security situation in the Union territory, the officials said.
The briefing focused on security in the border areas as well as the hinterland, especially anti-terrorist operations in forested areas. It also covered security arrangements made for the annual 38-day Amarnath Yatra scheduled to begin in the South Kashmir Himalayas on July 3.
The Army is part of the multi-tier security arrangements made for the smooth conduct of the yatra, especially for combing the forests surrounding the twin tracks — the traditional 48-kilometre Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-kilometre shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal district besides the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
