Army Chief General Dalbir Singh on Tuesday said that the draw- down of US troops from Afghanistan will be felt in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and stressed that the Counter Infilitration (CI) grid will have to be strengthened to counter the “spillover”. Singh, who was addressing a press conference ahead of Army Day on January 15- said that though “we will” have to “wait and watch” if the Pakistan Army undergoes a change of heart in the aftermath of Peshawar attack, the country continues to support terror infrastructure along their side of the Line of Control (LoC). He however said that he has given a “free hand to his commanders as far as retaliation is concerned”. Singh said that the spillover from Afghanistan “due to the evolving situation” there is being watched carefully and that the draw-down of US forces from Afghanistan is likely to have an “impact in J&K” which needs a strengthening of the Counter Infiltration (CI) grid. Maintaining that Pakistan continues to support the terror network across the border, Singh said that in the past year the Army has neutralised 110 terrorists against 55 in the year before that. “We have had the highest elimination of terrorists.Recent strikes by terrorists reflects their desperation. It also indicates that the infrastructure/ (training) camps along (across) the LoC are intact,” he said. Adding that the Confidence building Measures (CBMs) have been effective in keeping the Chinese border peaceful, Singh said that the demarcation of Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries can solve the “problem” of “transgressions”. Read also: Ceasefire violations: Heavy Pakistan shelling leaves one jawan dead, over 7000 evacuated from Samba Amidst the talks of a possible cut in the capital budget of defence forces, Singh said that the government has taken up seven modernisation projects on priority basis. The projects he said have been chosen from amongst “hundred plus” crucial projects and involve the much needed artillery modernisation, third generation missile, choppers for Army Aviation, upgradation of tanks and BMPs for the mechanised forces, assault rifles and night vision devices. The mountain strike corps that is being raised to counter China- is progressing as per time line- he added. While the procurement of 814 artillery guns, third generation missiles has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council headed by the defence minister, Singh said that the other projects too are in advanced stages and are progressing on “fast track”. Singh said that the seven critical projects have been shortlisted from within 20 that were in turn identified from with “more than 100 projects”. Read also: Pakistan shelling heightens tension, 10,000 frightened villagers abandon homes in Kashmir Meanwhile the Army has moved a proposal to the government to make Short Service Commission (SSC) more attractive so as to meet its challenges pertaining to officer shortages. Singh said that the desired ratio between SSC and permanent commission officers stands at 1:4.7 whereas the desired is 1:1.1. He said that implementation of A V Singh committee report had resulted in reducing the tenures of higher rank- officers- thus leaving them with less time to implement their decisions/ reflect upon the intricacies of their portfolio-however the same is now being increased. “I have given direction that it will be minimum 14- 15 months which is already being implemented. Tenures of brigade commanders will also be increased,” he said.
