By M S Nazki
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. This is what is in the mind of Lt. General Pratik Sharma GOC-in-C Northern Command!
-If our answers frighten you (Pakistan) then you should cease creating upstart situations! Which over the years Pakistan has created on LOC and the hinterland in J&K!
-Many things make a great leader but we will insist upon three:
– One: When you become a leader you give up the right to think about yourself.
-Two: A lack of planning on your part does not constitute a crisis on mine…unless of course I failed to lead you.”
-Three: To spend a few minutes with people is simply not productive. If one wants to get anything across, one has to spend a fairly large minimum quantum of time. The manager who thinks that he can discuss the plans, direction, and performance of one of his subordinates in fifteen minutes – and many managers believe this – is just deceiving himself. If one wants to get to the point of having an impact, one needs probably at least an hour and usually more. And if one has to establish a human relationship, one needs infinitely more time.
-All these could be seen in the General’s visit to Bhimber Gali Brigade! This is a Brigade that has got a great legacy and even greater history!
-Bhimber Gali is a village in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is often called BG locally as an abbreviated form of Bhimber Gali. It is named after a mountain pass “Bhimber Gali” on the mountain ridge separating the Poonch River and the Rajouri Tawi basins.
-Bhimber Gali is the point at which four roads meet, one from Hamirpur Balakote, second from Rajouri via Manjakote, third from Mendhar Tehsil and fourth from Poonch Via Surankote. This area borders POK and thus the surrounding areas often remained in news for cross LoC ceasefire violations.
-But now it is nor the same!
-The Line of Control (LOC) is a military demarcation line between Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered regions of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
-It’s a de facto border, meaning it acts as a border in practice but is not internationally recognized as a legal boundary.
– The LOC was established following the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and the subsequent Simla Agreement. It’s not the same as the international border or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
-The Importance of the Line of Actual Control:
-Not an International Border: While the LOC functions as a de facto border, it is not recognized as a legal boundary under international law.
-Simla Agreement: The LOC was established following the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and formalized in the 1972 Simla Agreement.
-Cease-fire Line: The LOC was initially known as the Cease-fire Line (CFL) before being renamed following the Simla Agreement.
-Current Status: The LOC remains a heavily militarized zone with ongoing tensions and occasional skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani forces.
-Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander Northern Command undertook a forward area visit to the Bhimber Gali Brigade to review the operational preparedness and security situation along the Pir Panjal Range.
-The visit aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the counter-insurgency and counter-infiltration grid in the region, as well as evaluating the prevailing threat perception and the overall posture of deployed troops.
– Lt Gen Sharma visited key forward locations, including the Shashi Tar area near Jara Wali Gali, where he conducted a comprehensive review of ground deployments and surveillance mechanisms.
-Interacting with Field Commanders and troops on the ground, the Army Commander lauded their high morale, unwavering commitment, and professionalism in serving under difficult terrain and harsh climatic conditions.
– He emphasized the importance of maintaining aggressive operational readiness, continuous surveillance, and a resilient mindset to counter any emerging security threats along the Line of Control and in the hinterland.
-Lt Gen Sharma reiterated the need for sustained vigilance and mission-focused deployment to ensure complete domination of the operational space. He expressed satisfaction with the preparedness levels of formations and units operating in the area and assured them of full support from the higher headquarters.
-This is the second visit of Lt Gen Pratik Sharma to the areas of Rajouri and Poonch in the last three days. In this latest visit, the Army Commander visited Bhimber Gali (BG) Brigade areas of Rajouri district LoC.
-In areas of BG Brigade, Indian Army last month has foiled three major infiltration bids of heavily armed terrorists including two infiltration bids at Keri and one at Tarkundi with a LoC infiltration facilitating guide was also captured by army and BSF on LoC at Tarkundi.
-During this fresh visit, army said, Army Cdr Northern Command Lt Gen Pratik Sharma was accompanied by General Officer Commanding White Night Corps Lt Gen PK Mishra and General Officer Commanding Ace of Spades Division, Maj Gen Kaushik Mukherji.
-He reviewed current operational dynamics and preparedness. Indian Army in its official statement further informed that the visit focused on assessing force effectiveness and threat response mechanisms in place to ensure complete domination of operational space.
-During the visit Army Commander Northern Command interacted with all ranks and motivated them to maintain high operational readiness, morale and professionalism in view of emerging challenges.
-The days of us forgetting are over, and the days of remembering have just begun…….This is the war cry of the people in Rajouri and Poonch!
The visit focused on assessing force effectiveness and threat response mechanisms in place to ensure complete domination of operational space.”
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 the Bhimber-Poonch route in April 2023 near Bhata Durian Forest when five Rashtriya Rifles (RR) soldiers were killed after terrorists 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.
-Down the memory lane:
The state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been a victim of Pakistan’s capricious territorial designs since the creation of that nation on August 14, 1947. It is this state that has borne the maximum impact of the three wars that Pakistan has inflicted on India, as well as of the traumatic and shattering proxy war unleashed by Pakistan since 1989. Although the state has been in the constant glare of the international media right since 1947, little is really known about it, both within the rest of India and abroad. For most, Jammu and Kashmir is synonymous with the Kashmir Valley.
A very important segment of the state, and one of the most critical areas in the conflict of the last ten years, is the border belt of two the districts of Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu region. The two districts share a long border of over 200 kilometres with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the form of the Line of Control (LoC).
These districts are located to the north west of Jammu city and comprise an area of 4034 square kilometres of mostly hilly terrain. The main economic activities are agrarian-based, coupled with government employment. The infrastructure in terms of communications and social services is fairly well dispersed and reasonably developed.
The importance of this area to Pakistan can be comprehended by the views expressed in a paper presented to the Pakistan Government by the British Chief of the Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Douglas Gracey, in April 1948. “An easy victory of the Indian Army, particularly in the Muzaffarabad area,” he observed, “is almost certain to arouse the anger of tribesmen against Pakistan for its failure to render them more direct assistance and might well cause them to turn against Pakistan…. If Pakistan is not to face another problem of about 27,50,000 people uprooted from their homes, if India is not to be allowed to sit on the doorsteps of Pakistan to the rear and on the flank, at liberty to enter at will and pleasure, if civilian and military morale is not to be affected to a dangerous extent, and if subversive political forces are not to be let loose within Pakistan itself, it is imperative that the Indian Army is not allowed to advance beyond the general line Uri-Poonch-Nowshera.”1 That this appreciation holds true in the minds of Pakistani policy planners and strategic thinkers since then is clear from the fact that Pakistan has never abandoned its efforts to gain control of the territory further east.
The entire belt comprises hilly and mountainous terrain with the southern parts of Rajouri district starting at heights of 2,500 feet and progressively increasing, as one traverses northwards, to peaks as high as 15,000 feet. The western boundaries of this area are entirely hilly, ranging from 4,000 feet to 12,000 feet, covered with dense forests. There are a large number of negotiable passes across these ranges. Poonch is the most important town in the area, located on the banks of the Poonch river which drains a large area of mountain country, collecting numerous streams that flow out of the lofty Pir Panjal range.
In the north, the Pir Panjal divides this region from the Kashmir Valley. This range has first an east and west direction for about 50 kilometres, and then it turns to the north-north-west, and continues for another 65 kilometres before it dies off towards the Valley and the Jhelum river.2 The prominent passes that traverse it include the famous Haji Pir, the Pir Panjal and the Banihal, though there are many other lesser, though negotiable, routes. These passes are inaccessible during the winter months, though they provide easy access to the Valley from PoK during the summer season.
Well it’s enough for today’s morning but tomorrow the sun will rise and as usual in the East!
