Chinar Corps GOC Lt Gen Satish Dua addresses mediapersons at Boniyar in Baramulla district on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Boniyar (Uri), October 18

The most senior Army officer in Kashmir on Tuesday said the force was prepared to deal with any misadventure from across the Line of Control.“The Army is prepared to deal with any misadventure from across the Line of Control, whether it is by the regulars or otherwise,” General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps Lt Gen Satish Dua told reporters on the sidelines of a function in the border area. “On the LoC, our preparation has only increased, so we are prepared for both maintaining the sanctity of the LoC and the counter-infiltration.” This was Lt General Dua’s first media interaction after one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir left 19 soldiers dead. The Special Forces under the command of the 15 Corps executed the surgical strikes on militant launching pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.Lt General Dua, however, chose not to divulge any details about the operation. “The appropriate authorities have already given out the details, I obviously don’t have any different point of view,” he said.When asked whether the surgical strikes had made any difference on ground zero, the Corps commander said: “We do see a presence (of militants) across the LoC. The very fact that they are infiltrating in different places and several such encounters have taken place is ample proof that they are still there and they continue to make attempts to infiltrate. But we are ready for any challenge,” the General said, adding that there has been a spurt in infiltration attempts from across the LoC. “I do admit that some infiltration has taken place, but the encounters along the LoC and the number of militants eliminated shows the preparedness of the Army,” he said.He said Uri was a sad incident and all necessary precautions had been taken to avert such attacks. “Whenever there is any operation or attack, the Army has its mechanisms to learn lessons for improvement. All those things for improvement have been done,” he said.The General said a majority of the youth were with the forces and there was no trust deficit between the two. “While there were some misguided youths who take part in protests, the majority are with the armed forces. Recently, one of our vehicles met with an accident and our jawans were trapped inside the vehicle. It was the local youths who extricated the jawans. We have conducted some anti-militancy operations recently and the youths did not indulge in stone-throwing after the purpose of the operation was explained to them,” he said.