Army Chief General Dwivedi to visit Srinagar on Friday to review security situation

New Delhi: Amidst the surging Indo-Pak tension, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi on Friday will be travelling to Srinagar for an on-the-spot assessment of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam carnage, even as the IAF has commenced a training exercise involving front line combat jets.

While India’s initial response to one of the worst terror attacks was a diplomatic one, sources said Pakistani armed forces were on alert along the border, presumably anticipating a military retaliation from the Indian side.

Top commanders would brief Gen Dwivedi on various aspects of the security scenario including the ongoing counter-terrorism operations, sources said. It is not immediately clear whether he would travel to the massacre site.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has undertaken a training drill named Exercise Akraman in the central sector involving the Rafale and Su-30 combat jets. The fighter jets would be carrying out complex ground attack and electronic warfare missions.

The Air Headquarters, however, underplayed the significance of the drill, describing it as a “routine training exercise held regularly”. “There are no requirements for anyone to read anything more into it,” said an official.

Military experts said the Pahalgam attack carried the signature of Pakistan’s involvement and possible military training in the way the terrorists planned and executed the carnage. They also chose a site that gave them enough time to disappear.

While there are now questions on the gap in the counter-terrorism grid and the three-tiered security apparatus that exist in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said more than 120 terrorists were active in J&K and the majority of them are Pakistani.

A day before Islamabad announced its plans to carry out a missile test in the Arabian Sea with officials claiming that the test might be linked to a Pakistani military exercise.

Pakistan has issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) with coordinates in the Arabian Sea for April 24-25 indicating a possible missile test. This, however, may be related to an ongoing Pakistani naval exercise, on which New Delhi is keeping a close watch.

The Indian Navy on Thursday carried a missile test from its front line warship INS Surat in the western sea-board and warships under the Western Naval Command have been put on high alert.