Northern Army Commander reviews operational preparedness of Bimber Gali Brigade in Poonch

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, on Sunday visited the Army's Bhimber Gali Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch to review "current operational dynamics and preparedness."

He was accompanied by GOC White Night Corps Lieutenant General P. K Mishra and GOC Ace of Spades Major General Kaushik Mukherjee.

According to the Northern Command official handle X, "The visit focused on assessing force effectiveness and threat response mechanisms in place to ensure complete domination of operational space."

"During the visit, the Northern Command Chief interacted with all ranks and motivated them to maintain high operational readiness, morale and professionalism in view of emerging challenges," it added.

Notably, on July 11, Lt Gen Pratik Sharma and Lt Gen P.K. Mishra visited the forward posts along the Pir Panjal Range to review the operational environment and assess counter-insurgency and counter-infiltration deployment.

The visit focused on ground posture and threat response mechanisms. Bhimber Gali falls in the Poonch sector area, a region which has witnessed a spate of terror attacks in the last three years. A major ambush happened along with Bhimber-Poonch route in April 2023 near Bhata Durian Forest when five Rashtriya Rifles (RR) soldiers were killed after terrorist attacked their vehicles.

Similarly, apart from Poonch-Rajouri, Kishtwar, Basantgarh, Doda, and Udhampur have also witnessed terror attacks in the last few years.

Once declared free from militancy, the Rajouri-Poonch region has become a hotbed for terrorists' hideouts.

On the intervening night of May 6-7, when India conducted Operation Sindoor, Bhimber Gali became one of the first regions which was hit by Pakistan's artillery.

While the situation in this bordering region, which also includes dense forest areas where militants take refuge, remains peaceful and under control, reports indicate that nearly 50 terrorists are active in the Jammu region.

Reports claimed that nearly 80 per cent of them are Pakistan-based.

--IANS

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