Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar Feb 16: Army today said that militancy in Kashmir is down after successful operations against them and infiltration levels are now a trickle.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps, Lt General S K Dua, told reporters at Palhalan in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district that militancy and infiltration levels in Kashmir are down.
When asked if the killing of 16 militants in Kashmir valley this year indicates rise in militancy, the GOC said: “When there are more kills (of militants), the militancy is down.”
Lt Gen Dua said that people are fed up with militancy and that is the reason that security forces get more intelligence inputs about presence of militants. “If our operations are intensified it is because of intelligence is effective. Lots of people are fed up with all this (violence) and that is why we get more intelligence inputs.
The GOC said that there is almost negligent infiltration and those odd ones who managed to infiltrate are not being allowed to come out of the reception area. “We should not go into numbers (number of militants operating in Kashmir) but our effort is that few odd ones who have managed to come in (infiltrate) don’t go to other parts. We stop them here and that is why there is drop in terrorist incidents”, he said.
The GOC said that the 5 Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, who were killed last week in Chowkibal area of Kupwara district had not infiltrated recently. He, however, said that Army is still investigating when and where from did they infiltrate. “We are investigating it and white colour jackets start from November when it snows here. If it would have been new infiltration, there is lot of snow and they must have left their mark”, he added.
Lt General Dua said this while speaking to media on the sidelines of a function aimed at reaching out to the youth of Palhalan in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district where much violence was recorded in past few years.
The GOC dedicated Chinar-9 Jawan Club which has facilities including Internet cafe, Outdoor Gymnasium, Volleyball and Basketball courts, recreational activities like Carrom and Library.
The aim of the Club is to reach out to the youth of the Palhalan area which has seen worst kind of violence for last 8 years and large number of youth have been booked by police on charges of stone pelting on security forces.
Lt General Dua said that the youth are future leaders and some people try to make them go astray. “There is no dearth of people who try to make youth go astray. These youth are future leaders. It is upto teacher and parents to show them right path. It is up to us to give them outlet where they can use their energy positively and not for stone throwing”, he added.
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