Don’t be complacent over improved security scenario in NE: Lt Gen Shekatkar

Guwahati, Feb 22: The overall security scenario seems to have improved in the northeastern region of India but that should not be allowed to make security forces complacent, observed senior security analyst and former GoC of 4 Corps of the Army Lt Gen D B Shektkar (Retd).

Lt Gen Shekatkar who was in Guwahati to attend a seminar said that the police and security personnel should not lose their alertness as the embers of militancy have not completely died down as yet.

He however, ruled out a major offensive by China against India in a near future but forewarned of the neighbouring nation’s interest in fomenting trouble along the border given that the escalation along the Pakistan border continues.

The security expert said that China has developed strategic interests in Pakistan with the China_Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and voicing opinion on the Kashmir issue. The Chinese Premier had even said that China would take back every inch of the territory ‘that belonged to them’.

Lt Gen shekatkar further said that in view of the possibility of hostilities between India and Pakistan post-Pulwama terror attack, China might try to engage Indian troops along the border by fomenting smaller troubles. Such incidents had happened in the past during the Kargil War when the Chinese troops attempted incursions in Arunachal Pradesh boder restricing the movement of troops from the eastern sector.

On security threats to the North East, Lt Gen Shekhatkar pointed out that over the years, the militant groups of the region including the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) have been receiving direct or indirect help from Chinese agencies. He expressed the view that the possibility of the Chinese agencies trying to revive the outfits cannot be ruled out.

Taking a cue out of the recent attack in Kashmir, the possibility of the ultras targeting vital installations, including oil establishments, cannot be ruled out and all the forces on the ground should remain alert, Lt Gen Shekhatkar said. He added that with a number of fundamentalist terror groups having bases in Bangladesh, security threat to the region cannot be overlooked as elements of such outfits may try to sneak into the North East by taking advantage of the porous international border.