Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday visited a sensitive forward post at a height of over 12,000 feet along the Line of Control (LoC) in North Kashmir’s Keran sector that has been witnessing frequent incidents of unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army and cross-border infiltration bids by terrorists. The defence minister’s visit to the area came a day after he directed the top military brass in Jammu and Kashmir to strongly retaliate to any Pakistani “misadventure” along the LoC and foil all attempts by the “adversary” to push terrorists into the Indian side.

Mr Singh was accompanied to the high-altitude North Hill post by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi and Commander of Chinar Corps Lt Gen BS Raju among others.

Before arriving at the post, Mr Singh visited the holy cave of Amarnath and offered prayers.

The troops of North Hill battalion confront the constant threat of enemy action on a daily basis, said a senior official, adding the units have not only foiled repeated attempts by terrorists to sneak through but have also inflicted heavy losses onto Pakistani forces abetting such bids.

At the post, the local Army commander briefed Mr Singh about the overall situation in the area and how Indian troops are relentlessly foiling Pakistan Army’s attempts in the sector to push terrorists into the Kashmir Valley.

“The visit by the defence minister and the top Army brass to Keran sector is a clear message to Pakistan that India will appropriately respond to its attempts to create problem in Kashmir,” said the senior official.

Mr Singh spent around an hour at the post during which he interacted with the soldiers and hailed them for guarding the LoC round-the-clock despite the harsh weather and other trying circumstances.

“The whole country is proud of you all,” Mr Singh told them during the impromptu interaction. Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic in the region, Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and making concerted efforts to push terrorists into Kashmir.

The Pakistani hostilities increased after India announced its decision to withdraw the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the state into two union territories in August last year.