The Indian Air Force has issued a ‘notice to airmen’ covering the entire north-eastern region bordering Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar for a series of large-scale exercises beginning today, reported The Shillong Times, a newspaper based in India’s northeast state of Meghalaya.
The report published online on November 1 quoting official sources said that such operations were typically conducted during periods of heightened alert, and civilian flights would be restricted in designated airspace during the drills.
Asked about the Indian Air Force’s exercises in the areas bordering Bangladesh, Bangladesh Army Headquarters training and doctrine command general officer commanding Lieutenant General Md Mainur Rahman at a press briefing on Wednesday said that they were aware of the air exercises in bordering areas by India.
‘It’s their internal affairs and we have nothing to worry about it. There are some other countries along the border also,’ he said at the briefing at the Army Headquarters in the capital Dhaka.
Responding to another question, he expressed optimism that the country’s overall stability and law and order situation would improve after the general elections scheduled for February next year.
‘Like the general people of the country, we also want a free, fair and acceptable election as per the government-declared road map. After the polls, stability will return and the law and order situation will improve,’ said the GOC.
Terming the period after August 5, 2024, challenging, Mainur said that the army troops were deployed in aid to civil administration at a time when there was unrest among the police and the government machinery was not functioning properly.
On August 5 past year,Ìý the authoritarian regime of Awami League was ousted in the mass uprising.
During the air exercises, the India’s Air Force will carry out extensive combat training, coordinated sorties, and logistics operations across multiple forward bases and air stations in the northeast — one of India’s most sensitive theatres, sharing boundaries with five countries, including China, according to the report by The Shillong Times.
It mentioned that the forthcoming operations aim to strengthen India’s air dominance, readiness, and operational coordination in the region.
‘A NOTAM [notice to airmen] is issued when a specific airspace must be cleared of civilian traffic. Similar notices were released in the past during heightened tensions with Pakistan to prevent passenger aircraft from entering potential zones of aerial activity,’ the report mentioned, adding that the measure helped ensure civilian safety and allowed military aircraft, missiles, and drones to operate without the risk of mid-air collisions.
Army briefing:
- Country’s stability to return after polls
- Army members more united than ever before
- Army ready to extend all support to EC for polls
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The latest NOTAMs reflect enhanced operational preparedness in the strategically vital northeast, according to the report.
It said that notices had been scheduled for multiple dates over the coming months — November 6 and 20, December 4 and 18, and January 1 and 15 — as part of the IAF’s continued large-scale operations and drills in the region.
In response to a question about ‘propaganda’ being spread on social media, the Bangladesh Army’s senior official said that all members of the force were fully loyal to their leadership and more united than ever before.
‘Some vested quarters are running fabricated and hateful campaigns to malign the army and its leadership. It is unfortunate… I can assure you that every member of the army is loyal to the Chief of Army Staff and their senior leadership,’ he said.Ìý
He said that the army troops that remained deployed in aid to civil power for more than 15 months to maintain order would return to barracks once the national polls were held.
The GOC said that they were preparing for elections in line with the road map already announced by the chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Responding to a question about extortions and chaos on roads, he said, they were working at their best to maintain order and the situation would have deteriorated had the military personnel were not deployed.
Addressing the press briefing, Military Operations Directorate director Brigadier General Dewan Mohammad Monzur Hossain said that they were prepared to give all support to the Election Commission for a free and fair election.
Responding to a question, he said that the army had received the government directive to withdraw 50 per cent of its members deployed in the field temporarily for election-related training.
‘We would consider the overall law and order situation and take measures accordingly,’ he added.
He said that 90,000 to one lakh army personnel would be deployed across the country during the election.
‘So far, we have recovered 81 per cent of the missing weapons and 73 per cent of the missing ammunitions, and arrested more than 19,000 crime suspects, including members of teenage gangs, robbers, and extortionists,’ he said.
