Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi arrived here on Thursday evening to evaluate security measures as Jammu and Kashmir prepares for its first Assembly elections in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
According to senior Army officials posted in Srinagar, Gen. Dwivedi is expected to be briefed by security forces and formation commanders on the situation, with a focus on constituencies along the Line of Control (LoC).
"The COAS (Chief of Army Staff) will visit forward areas of North Kashmir tomorrow and will return to Delhi," a senior official said, without divulging further details.
The security forces recovered a substantial cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives in Kupwara district on Wednesday.
"Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police was launched in the Keran sector of Kupwara. Searches in the indicated area led to the recovery of a large haul of war-like stores, including AK-47 rounds, hand grenades, RPG rounds, and materials for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)," a Defence spokesperson based in Srinagar said in a statement.
"The recovery is significant considering the current security situation and upcoming important events in the UT. The intelligence tip-off came from a special election observer deployed in J&K and has possibly helped avert a major incident in North Kashmir. Security forces remain committed to maintaining a stable and peaceful environment in the region," it added.
Notably, Jammu and Kashmir includes 18 Assembly constituencies along the LoC, including Karnah, Lolab, Uri, and Gurez in the Kashmir division. In Jammu, constituencies like Marh, Akhnoor, and Chammb, as well as Rajouri's Kalakot-Sunderbani, Nowshera, Thanamandi, and Poonch's Surankote, Poonch Haveli, and Mendhar, also lie along the LoC. Additionally, Jammu has five constituencies — Hiranagar, Ramgarh, Bishnah, Suchetgarh, and RS Pura—falling along the International Border (IB).
This marks Gen. Dwivedi's fourth visit to the Union Territory since he assumed the role of India's 30th Army Chief on June 30, 2024.
Separately, Additional Director General of Police (SPNO) J&K Vijay Kumar, accompanied by IGP Kashmir VK Birdi and IG CRPF GK Verma, conducted a security and election review meeting at the DPO Shopian Conference Hall. The meeting, attended by senior officers aimed to assess security arrangements for the upcoming Phase-1 elections in District Shopian, according to a police spokesperson.
