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‘Developing capabilities to deal with drone threats’
STATE TIMES NEWS
New Delhi: There has been no infiltration along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kash5mir after India and Pakistan agreed to observe a ceasefire in February and it has resulted in a significant drop in all parameters of violence, Army Chief General MM Naravane said on Thursday.
In an interactive session at a think-tank, Gen. Naravane also said there will always be elements who will try to sabotage the process of peace and development and the security forces will have to be mindful of this challenge.
In a sudden and significant move aimed at reducing tensions, the Indian and Pakistani armies announced on February 25 that they would cease firing across the LoC, while recommitting themselves to a 2003 ceasefire agreement.
The Chief of Army Staff said following the February ceasefire, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has seen a “marked improvement”.
“Since there is a ceasefire, there is no longer any infiltration. As there is no infiltration, the number of terrorists in the valley is lesser and as the number of terrorists is lesser, the number of terror-related incidents has also seen a drop,” Gen. Naravane said.
“But there will always be elements who will try to sabotage the process of peace and development. We will have to cater for that. We have a strong counter-terrorism and counter-infiltration grid in Jammu and Kashmir and our operations to that end to ensure peace and tranquillity will continue,” he added.
The Army Chief said there were certain incidents of violence like firing at some security forces’ picket or gunning down of some person.
“These kinds of incidents do continue. But overall, the sharp drop in all parameters of violence clearly indicates that the general population in Kashmir is all for peace and development,” he said.
Going forward, the Army Chief said there is a need to focus more on creating conditions that are conducive to peace and development.
Asked about the possible impact on India of the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban increasing its influence in that country, Gen. Naravane declined to give a direct reply, saying the American drawdown is still underway.
“So in that front, we will have to wait and watch to see how it unfolds and how it impacts us,” he said.
Asked about the recent drone attack on the Jammu Air Force station, he said, “I am sure that there would be some inimical elements who would not like peace to prevail in the Valley.”
The Army chief said that easy availability of drones has increased the complexity of security challenges and the Indian military is developing capabilities to effectively deal with the threats, be it from state-sponsored elements or by states themselves. He said the security establishment is well aware of the challenges and certain measures have already been put in place to deal with them.
“We are developing capabilities to deal with the threats whether they are state-sponsored or by states themselves. We are developing capabilities to deal with drone threats both in the kinetic and non-kinetic realm,” he said.
Gen Naravane said that easy availability of drones has increased the complexity of security challenges from both state and state-sponsored actors and called for shedding “old mindsets” to deal with the changing character of modern warfare encompassing a multitude of new threats.
He said the transition of the military to the digital age is “contrarian” to the defence procurement procedure and that the first and foremost issue was changing the existing mindset to embrace change.
Gen Naravane said that there was a need for shedding old mindsets and make procedures “more flexible” and “adaptive” to bring in changes and incorporate niche technologies like artificial technologies to deal with emerging challenges and prepare for future wars.
“All this would require simplified procedures that facilitate the transition. Unfortunately, this has been one of our biggest stumbling blocks. The transition to digital age is contrarian to DPP (Defence Procurement Procedure) and DPM (Defence Procurement Manual) mindsets.
“In order to harness niche technologies like AI, exploit our depth in IT and realise the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), we need to shed old mindsets and make our procedures more flexible and adaptive,” he said.
Gen Naravane said the urgency to embrace the change will come only with the realisation and understanding of the changed character of modern warfare and that the leadership needs to fully comprehend the nuances of new technologies.
“Post the ceasefire, all the parameters of violence have dropped. So there was definitely a linkage between the support that the terrorists got from across the border and the levels of violence in the Kashmir valley,” the Army Chief added.
Pakistan has been making concerted efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue. The neighbouring country stepped up an anti-India campaign after New Delhi announced in August 2019 its decision to withdraw the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into Union territories.
India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence. The country has said the onus is on Pakistan to create such an environment.