Northern Army commander reviews operational preparedness in J&K’s Poonch

Jammu, Aug 17 (IANS) Udhampur-headquartered Northern Command chief, Lt General Pratik Sharma, on Monday visited forward locations in J&K’s Poonch district and reviewed the operational preparedness of the formation.

“Lt Gen Pratik Sharma #ArmyCdrNC, visited forward locations in #Poonch and reviewed the operational preparedness of the formation. During the visit, he was briefed on the prevailing security situation, operational readiness and the challenges of deployment in the rugged terrain”, the Northern Command said on its X handle.

It said that the army commander interacted with troops serving in forward areas and appreciated their resilience in maintaining mission-readiness despite the demanding terrain and weather conditions.

“The Army Commander emphasised the need to remain vigilant, foster #Synergy and continue adopting innovative approaches to effectively meet emerging security challenges”.

The Northern Command of the Army is responsible for defending India’s northern borders, managing operational deployments along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, and directing counter-terrorism and internal security operations in the region.

These duties include safeguarding the borders along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and the LAC in Ladakh.

Counter-infiltration duties include stopping terrorist infiltration attempts across the borders, and counter-terrorism duties include conducting internal security and counter-insurgency operations within Jammu and Kashmir.

It maintains year-round operational readiness and logistics in extreme terrain, including the Siachen Glacier.

The formations of the Northern Command comprise the XIV Corps (Fire & Fury Corps) based in Leh, responsible for Ladakh and the LAC with China, the XV Corps (Chinar Corps) based in Srinagar, with responsibility for the Kashmir Valley and counter-terrorism operations, and the XVI Corps (White Knight Corps) based in Nagrota, guarding the Jammu region up to the Pir Panjal range.

In addition, there are formations of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), a counter-terrorism force in India formed in 1990 to deal with internal security in the Jammu and Kashmir region. With its personnel provided by the Army on deputation, it maintains public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 (AFSPA).

–IANS

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