Defence Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to take stock of the security situation as part of a two-day review. This is his first visit to the state after he took charge of the Defence portfolio last month. Jaitley was accompanied by Army Chief General Bikram Singh.
Jaitley's visit was preceded by violence along the border in the state, with Pakistani troops violating ceasefire on Friday. The firing occurred in Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, where Pakistani troops breached ceasefire with heavy firing and mortar shelling.
The incident even prompted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to tweet about the timing of the attack on Friday.
"Is it just a coincidence that the Defence Minister is visiting J&K, for his 1st visit, to review the security situation tomorrow? #ceasefire," Abdullah wrote.
While no casualties were reported in Friday's firing, a day before, an army jawan was killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded near the LOC in Tarkundi area of Poonch. Three other jawans were left injured in the IED blast, which is reported to have been planted by terrorists.
Another jawan lost his life on the same day in a landmine blast in the same region. News reports said that an alert was sounded in the region following the two blasts and searches were launched to check for more explosive devices.
The Defence Minister is set to have been briefed by top army officials posted in the state about the anti-militancy operations along the Line of Control, according to The Indian Express. He is also likely to address the issue of rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, as well as the upcoming annual procession of Amarnath Yatra, among other issues.
Jaitley had on Friday attended a briefing by top army officials along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the security situation of the country.
