Srinagar, June 19 (KNS): Over 100 Militants including top commanders have been killed in encounters with security forces in J&K this year, and Army will continue with its operations to wipe out militancy from Kashmir to restore peace in the Valley, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt. Gen. BS Raju said today.
Addressing a joint press conference at Army’s 15 Corps headquarters here, Lt Gen Raju said that over the past 24 hours, security forces were able to neutralise eight militants in two separate encounters in south Kashmir’s Pulwama and Shopian districts.
“In one of the encounters, where militants had gone inside a mosque, the forces on ground exercised extreme restraint and no damage was caused to the religious place. With every operation, we are moving on the path of peace. I can feel it on the ground that there is a palpable difference in the situation,” the top army commander said.
Flanked by Director General of Police (J&K) Dilbagh Singh, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar and IG CRPF Rajesh Kumar, the GoC said that successful operations are taking place with the active support of people. “In the next few months, we will try to ensure that the normalcy is restored in full across the Valley so that people resume all kinds of activities in a peaceful manner,” Raju said.
He said that this year so far, 102 militants have been killed in various operations. “There have been only one or two civilian casualties and that’s because of the extra-ordinary restraint exercised by the forces on ground,” he said. “This year, 49 youths had joined various militant ranks of which 27 were killed. It doesn’t give us a pleasure to kill young boys. But if anybody picks up arms we will do what we are doing.”
The GoC said that there was a limited success in persuading the youth who get trapped in encounters, to surrender. “But we have been able to prevent the new recruitment and to identify those behind the militant recruitment in Kashmir. My appeal to the people across Kashmir is to come forward and help us in preventing youth from treading the wrong path and to bring back those who have picked up arms,” he said, adding, “we assure them proper rehabilitation.”
Speaking on the occasion, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh said, “During this year, there were a number of successful operations against militants and most of them were clean with least collateral damage. For that, I would like to compliment field officers who remain physically present during the operation,” the DGP said.
The DGP also said that our mission is to stabilise peace in the valley, you all are aware that during this year, number of successful operations have been carried out and more importantly these operations have done in a clean manner, with least collateral damage for which I would like to compliment amour field information’s and field officers.
We are physically present on the ground, where patients are being carried out. I would again retrain what the GOC said, that this give us no pleasure, a terrorist doesn’t bring much happiness to anybody here, neither to us not to his family, not to his friend, not to the civil society perhaps, but the fact is that the person with a gun is a threat to everybody and the fact is that didn’t aware large number of civilian killings, and attacks on security establishments, forces. We can’t ignore this threat, so therefore we had to take an action and we will continue to do that.
he also I am happy to say that new recruitment has come down drastically and it has come down because our joint efforts with the civil society by the parents, by the police. Let me assure you that number of such youth who are almost on the brink to go away, but we are able to get them back. So that’s a great achievement. This is happening with full involvement of police and security forces on ground. Two operations in the last 24 hours, very neat, very clean operations specific and no collateral damages. The terrorists ran from residential house and seek hide in the Jamia Masjid, we continued to keep the area in cordon and use slightly different tactics and tools in the operation. I am happy to report this morning that the operation was over and you all would agreeing with us that the kinds of thanks coming from people, I have seen couple of videos and the operation was conduction an absolute professional manner, even the minuted damage to the mosuque has been prevented. The credit goes to our forces, who are working on the ground. Who despite provocations are always ready exercise much restraint. I compliment to the team for this operation and I express my happiness for satisfaction of the people. The eight, who were threat to the civil society, who were harassing people day in and day out, causing physical loss to them, have met their end. This doesn’t bring happiness but off course stabiles peace in the valley. In past 5 months more than hundred terrorists have been neutralized. 30+ are from HM, LET, 20 of them are from JM and the rest are from small outfits, like Albdr, Agh etc. Similarly Jammu region have also conducted successful operations. (KNS)