'That only the Pakistani leadership can tell,' he said. 'But as far as we

are concerned, whenever a ceasefire violation will take place, we will take retaliatory action.

'We try to exercise maximum restraint but if ceasefire violations continue to happen, we will have to retaliate at some stage,' he said.

As another fierce battle raged between security forces and a group of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in Reasi district, the general said that attempts were being made to disrupt peace in the Kashmir Valley.

'This period is critical as we have a peaceful valley... Attempts will be made from across the border to try and disrupt that and push in as many infiltrators as possible before the winter sets in,' he said.

He added that the army had put up a 'multi-tier' defence system to check infiltration at the LoC.

There has been a surge in incidents of infiltration. Soldiers foiled an infiltration bid in Gurez sector Wednesday, killing five men attempting to cross over from Pakistan.