Chief of the Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor on Friday said there was an increase in the number of ceasefire violation by Pakistan to facilitate increased infiltration before winter sets in.
The Army had put in a multi-tiered security ring to thwart the attempts by Pakistan to push in more people into India with a view to disrupting the stable environment in Jammu and Kashmir.
Attempts of ceasefire violation were on to facilitate infiltration under the cover of firing. “Attempts will be made by the other side to try and disrupt the stable and peaceful environment in Jammu and Kashmir and push in as many infiltrators as possible before winter sets it,” the Army Chief told journalists after a function here.
Gen. Kapoor said the Army was keen that ceasefire continued and that it regularly raised the issue of violation at border meetings with Pakistan. The Indian Army exercised maximum self-control in taking retaliatory action.
During the last session of Parliament, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said there were 110 incidents of ceasefire violation between 2006 and 2009, including 47 incidents of trans-LoC firing. The maximum incidents —77— occurred in 2008. The Minister had said while there was no casualty to civilians in the firings, Indian security forces suffered nine fatal and 25 non-fatal casualties.
The Army had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indira Gandhi National Open University to provide graduation degrees to its personnel below officer ranks. It sought to confer educational certification to soldiers within the parameters laid down by the IGNOU for community colleges, recognising in-service training done by them; within the broad framework set out by the university.
The IGNOU would register Regimental Training Centres’ Human Resource Development Centres of the Army and the Army Schools of Instructions as “community colleges,” an official release said. The project is called ‘Gyan Deep,’ signifying knowledge.
