Jammu: Army Chief General M M Naravane is on a two-day visit to Jammu from Wednesday where he will review security situation and operational preparedness, officials said.
This is his second visit to Jammu in the past over two weeks amid an ongoing operation against militants in a forest belt in twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri, which is the longest in the recent past that has entered 24th day on Wednesday.
“General MM Naravane #COAS (Chief of Army Staff) is on a visit to Jammu region wherein he will be given an update on security situation & operational preparedness. #COAS will visit forward areas & interact with troops and commanders on ground,” the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) of the Indian Army tweeted.
Earlier, the Army chief conducted a two-day tour of the Jammu region on October 18 and 19 and reviewed the ground situation and the ongoing counter-infiltration operations.
He had also visited the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, where a massive operation to track down militants hiding in the forest areas of Mendhar, Surankote and Thanamandi has been going on since October 11.
The operation started in Surankote forest on October 11, following the killing of five soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and was subsequently extended to Mendhar to neutralise the fleeing militants where another encounter took place on October 14, leaving four soldiers, including another JCO, killed.
Pakistani terrorist Zia Mustafa, who was shifted from Kot Bhalwal Central Jail Jammu to Mendhar on police remand for questioning in connection with the operation, was killed when the security forces accompanying him to identify a hideout came under fire from hiding militants on October 24.
Police have arrested a militant associate allegedly having links with Mustafa and the militant handlers across the border, while over a dozen others are also being questioned in connection with providing logistic support to the militants in the forest belt.
Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region have witnessed a rise in infiltration attempts since June this year, resulting in the killing of nine militants in separate encounters. PTI

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Press Trust of India