Pakistan move to ban Hafiz Saeed's JuD a significant move: Army

Srinagar, Jan 24: Army on Saturday said the announcement of ban on Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawah by Pakistan were "good moves" but the effect of these steps needs to be gauged on ground.

"It is a significant move (by Pakistan). We are waiting and watching as to how the ban on JuD would manifest on ground," General Officer Commanding of Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt General Subrata Saha told reporters here. He said all necessary precautions have been taken in view of the high profile visit of US President Barack Obama.

"Adequate care is being taken to foil all (nefarious) designs in view of the visit of the US President," Lt Gen Saha said.

He said while security forces had good success against militants during the last year, there were reports of over 150 militants waiting at various launch pads on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) to infiltrate in the Valley.

"According to our assessment, there are 150 to 160 militants waiting at launch pads to sneak in ... there are around 17 launch pads," he said.

Security has been beefed up across the Valley, especially in the summer capital of the state, to thwart any militant attacks ahead or during the visit of the US President, who will be arriving in New Delhi tomorrow.

Large number of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed around sensitive installations to ensure peaceful conduct of Republic Day celebrations and an incident-free Valley during Obama's stay in India.

PTI