Jaipur: In order to gain an insight into prevailing security situation in J&K, a webinar was conducted by the Indian Army’s Desert Corps under the aegis of Pune-based Southern Command.
The webinar, presided by Southern Command chief, Lt General J.S. Nain, and attended by about 1,100 officers from 32 different stations under Southern Command, focused on evolving social, political and economic contours in Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370 and the consequent paradigm shift in the global and national security scenario. It was followed by an interactive session on the future roadmap.
The panellists included Chinar Corps commander, Lt Gen D.P. Pandey, former Chinar Corps commander, Lt Gen K.J.S. Dhillon (retd), who was at the helm of affairs during the Pulwama incident, along with J&K’s former DGP Rajendra Kumar, and former High Commissioner to Pakistan, T.C.A. Raghavan.
Experts like journalists Aditya Raj Kaul, writer and activist Bashir Assad, Ayjaz Wani, Raja Muneeb, and IDSA’s Dr Ashok Behuria also shared their views and indicated a way forward.
Expressing their views on changing dynamics in Kashmir and its implications on the security situation, speakers also deliberated on the threat assessment in the global, national and regional perspective with likely effects on the prevailing situation in J&K. An in-depth assessment of the agitational dynamics and white-collar terrorism was presented in one of the sessions to enlighten the audience with the hidden agenda of the adversaries.
Lt Gen Nain, in his concluding remarks, reiterated the major takeaways from the webinar and impressed upon young officers to remain abreast of the situation prevalent in the country and understand the emerging dynamics of Kashmir on the geostrategic front.
He stressed upon the need felt to revamp the education system to ensure that the youth remain aligned to mainstream and the necessity of preventing narco-terrorism and guarding against infiltration in principal institutions. An audit of the infrastructure development and socio-economic impact may be considered to enable better policy making decisions, he said.
The Army Commander advised all stakeholders to be prepared to pre-emptively counter Pakistan’s strategic designs. India stands for peace and resolution of issues through diplomacy and dialogue, however the conditions should be right and cessation of the proxy war by Pakistan is a prerequisite for the same, he said.
