Kashmir 'dialogue' will not affect Army operations: Army Chief

New Delhi: Lauding the government’s decision of having sustained dialogue with stakeholders in Kashmir, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday that the move wouldn’t affect Army’s operations in the valley. “Government has appointed him, let him work, it will not affect Army's operations,” said General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief at a function organized by the industry body, FICCI.

His comment came after two days of Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement that the government will hold a "sustained dialogue" with all stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue. Also, speaking on the recent government strategy, General Rawat said “hard stance on terror” has helped create a situation for dialogue. “Government strategy on Kashmir has worked, we are negotiating from point of strength. The situation has improved, infiltration has come down,” he said.

The government appointed former Intelligence Bureau Director Dineshwar Sharma as an interlocutor for Kashmir issue. Further, the Army Chief said the forces were considering the use of advanced Electronic Warfare Systems to keep a strong vigil on adversaries on western and northern borders. He said the advanced warfare monitoring systems will be employed to keep a strict watch over surrounding border areas. “We are looking at Electronic Warfare (EW) system to keep an eye not just on borders but in the hinterland,” the Army Chief said. “Major requirement as of now is intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, to keep eye on adversaries on western and northern borders,” he added.

Clarifying that frontier borderland areas face a constant threat from terrorists, he said, “Security of installations in the hinterland is becoming a cause for concern. We are getting reports of Uri like attacks well in depth.” (UNI)