Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday said that since the scrapping of the provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the law and order situation has improved.

“After the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, there are less incidents of violence. The figures and facts reflect that law and order situation has improved over there,” said General Naravane.

He also said that incidents of stone-pelting are negligible and the overall situation has improved a lot.

“If you look at the incidents before August 5 and after August 5, the numbers itself will show that the situation has improved. The incidents of violence, be it stone-pelting, terrorist-related violence, all have seen a sharp decline. There is no doubt about this,” the Army Chief said.

From August till now, stone-pelting incidents have reduced by 40 to 45 per cent in Kashmir, the Central government had stated.

Around 190 stone-throwing incidents were reported from the valley after the scrapping of the provisions of Article 370 and 260 people involved in them were jailed. In 2019, around 544 incidents of stone-pelting took place and 190 of them have taken place since August 5.

He further informed that around 250 Pakistan-based terrorists are stationed across the Line of Control and are making attempts to infiltrate every day.

He also said that there are around 20 to 25 active launch pads across the Line of Control and India is monitoring the situation.

Stressing upon bolstering military capabilities along the northern frontier, the Army Chief said that India needs to be firm in its resolve while dealing with the boundary issues with China.

He said that India has two neighbours — to the West is Pakistan and to the North is China with large boundaries.

“The border in the North is very large. It has inhospitable terrain so we need to focus there also. I am not saying one is big and the other is not. We are preparing for any eventuality. If we want peace, we should be ready,” the Army chief said.

On Wednesday, after he took over as the 28th Chief of Army Staff, Gen Naravane had said that the Army will focus on the border with China with equal attention as it does on the Pakistan border.

He exuded confidence that India will “eventually resolve” the border issue with China.

Further, refuting allegations levelled by a few opposition parties about politicisation of the armed forces, Gen Naravane asserted that the Army is apolitical.

“We are far away from politics. We work as per directions of government of the day,” he stressed.

On January 1, General Bipin Rawat, the country’s first Chief of the Defence Staff, had said that the Indian armed forces stay away from politics.

Naravane has served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast in his 37 years of service.

As the Army chief, Gen Naravane’s priorities are expected to be to implement long-pending reforms of the Army, contain cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and bolster the operational capabilities of the force along the northern border where China has been ramping up its military infrastructure in Tibet.

(With inputs from IANS)