Peace in Jammu and Kashmir still fragile, can't let our guard down, Northern Army Commander tells NDTV

The terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is still intact and so is its intention to push in more infiltrators into Jammu and Kashmir. The peace in the northern state is still fragile and India cannot afford to let its guard down, says the Northern Army Commander, Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra in an exclusive interview with NDTV. Here are the excerpts:

NDTV: Lt Chachra, your tenure here as Northern Army Commander started on an eventful note if I may say. So just two months into the tenure and a series of ceasefire violations and incident on the border.. Now that that incident has been taken care of, what's your assessment of the entire situation along the Line of Control, especially Pir Panjal?

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: You know, the ceasefire violations have a meaning. The meaning is that, at this point in time, the number of terrorists within is reducing and Pakistan has to infiltrate them in and this is the time to do it. Now, till the winters, the winter sets in; therefore the ceasefire violations have a direct linkage to the number of infiltrators that they want to push in. They are on the increase because the content of the terrorist leadership, within the hinterland, has had a very bad attrition in the past few months, so this is an ongoing process.

NDTV: There is one more feeling which had come up after the killing of five soldiers in Poonch that commanders on ground or brigadiers or commanding officers do not have the freedom to retaliate immediately. I want you to tell us.

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: No I think this is a misnomer. My every commander on the ground has the authority to retaliate effectively with the fire he feels is most appropriate for the target he wants to engage. That discretion is with the local commander. He does not have to refer back anywhere. He has the authority to retaliate appropriately.

NDTV: Well Lt Chachra, you talked about the freedom your commanders on the ground have to retaliate as and when they are provoked. What about the men?

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: I have just been around everywhere, most of the border places, met the men. Let me tell you very emphatically. Our men are in very high morale, very determined, and everytime they get a success their morale is high.

NDTV: But having said that violence levels have come down, is it that the peace is permanent now or we should still wait for that judgement?

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: I would say that this is a perceived peace. It cannot be construed as normalcy. I would be saying because the infiltration attempts are still going on, Pakistan is still abetting the terrorism, the terrorist infrastructure is still in place, the attempts will continue as we go closer towards winter. So while there is peace, I would say that it is fragile and that we cannot put our guard down. We need to be vigilant, we need to be prepared and we need to be alert for any such eventuality.

NDTV: What is going to be your approach going forward because winter will set in? Do you think some of them are still lying low in the hinterland, some of the leadership or are they completely degraded and without any direction right now?

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: You know in the last few months there has been very excellent synergy between us and the police and para-military forces and the joint operations that have been launched have been very, very successful. In fact, in the past few months, you would have seen that a large number of their leaders have been targeted and eliminated.

There is now a vacuum. In fact many of them are probably lying underground because there is no leadership to direct them, and that is why also there is an increase in the infiltrations attempts as they want to move in some people there to assume, sort of cover this vacuum. But having said this, I would like to tell you our counter terrorist grid is quite effective, dynamic, takes into account this changing situations, also it keeps updating based on the intelligence we are gathering.

Also whenever we launch our operations and wherever we are launching our operations, let me emphasise that they are very specifically intelligence-based, surgical, and to the point operation without causing any disruption to day to day life. We want to keep all our operations like this, people-friendly. We don't mind him getting away one time but will get him and we will get him with the purposeful, clear intelligence that we get.

NDTV: Everyone talks about American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. What is your assessment for the Kashmir Valley going forward? Will militancy get a boost?

Lt General Sanjiv Chachra: I think the drawdown will definitely have effect. As a professional army we are keeping a tag of it. We will, as the drawdown comes closer, be able to see impact much more clearly, but I am sure it will have impact on the militant situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Of course, we are prepared. We are a professional army. We are taking into account all these inputs and in fact these are thought processes that are actually going into our thinking for the future, how we are going to plan and see how 2014 develops.