The outgoing General officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, on Thursday said that the security situation in Kashmir has shown significant improvement over the past few years, and the biggest challenge for the security agencies is to maintain the current stability.

Addressing media persons at the Corps headquarters, Lt General Ghai said that the Indian Army has tried hard to protect the borders while maintaining a ‘proper connection with the people of Kashmir.’ He noted that the Valley has seen numerous significant events and a lot of development in the region.

“Significant efforts are being made by the 15 Corps, the J&K police, and other security agencies. There has been no active terror recruitment in the region, and the number of active terrorists has also reduced to about 80, becoming almost negligible,” he said.

Lt General Ghai said that the situation is considerably good in the region. “Terrorism is being fuelled from across the border and that’s very much clear.”

Lt General Ghai will be succeeded by Lt General Prashant Shrivastava on 15 October.

Replying to a query about the biggest challenge in Kashmir, he said that the region has seen a good year so far like last year. “We need a few more good years to make peace a permanent feature here. I believe maintaining this peaceful atmosphere is the biggest challenge for the security forces.” The GoC said that the Indian Army is also addressing the challenge of drugs in Kashmir as well. “We have also taken various initiatives in sports activities as several youths from the Valley have brought laurels to the country. We are also promoting culture,” he said.

“We foiled infiltration attempts by terrorists from across the border. This summer, there were less attempts of infiltration,” he said.

Referring to the frequent attacks in the Pir Panjal region, he said that there were chances that the terrorists may attempt to take shelter in Kashmir. “Terrorists keep moving as they cannot survive in one place,” he said.

He further stated that the ceasefire announced in February 2021 was intact and was being followed by both sides.

Responding to a query about the possibility of troop cut at this juncture, the GoC said: “We are in a consolidation phase and no dilution of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism grids is recommended. Both grids need to be maintained. I definitely won’t advocate any dilution of these grids at this stage.”