No ISIS in Kashmir
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Nov 19: Army today said that the top leadership of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in the Kashmir valley has been wiped out with the killing of six militants in Bandipora district and 180 militants have been killed this year while 200 are still active.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps, Lt General J S Sandhu, told reporters here during a press conference: “With the elimination of six of its commanders yesterday, the top leadership of LeT in the Valley has been wiped out.”
He said Hajin was an area of concern for security forces and militants had killed some people there. “We inducted Special Forces into the area. Good information started pouring in. We were keeping Chandegeer village on our radar. These militants had been staying there in a house for two to three days”, he added.
The General identified one of the militants killed as Osama Jungvi or Owaid, nephew of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and probably the son of Zaki-ur-Rehman Makki. Six Pakistani militants including Owaid and two other top commanders of LeT, Zargar and Mehmood, were killed on Saturday. An IAF commando was also killed in the gunfight.
The GOC said that security forces want to restore peace in Kashmir soon. “We look forward to continue the operations and restore peace in the Valley very soon. We are working on two lines. One is counter militancy and the second is that we want the local militants to return. We pulled out and saved an injured militant in Kulgam and saved his life”, he added.
Lt General Sandhu said that security forces have killed 190 militants across Kashmir this year and these killings have brought remarkable changes in the Valley.
“This year as you all know we have had a number of successful operations in Kashmir region. We have killed about 190 militants as on date in 2017. Out of these 190, 80 militants were local and the remaining foreign militants. Out of 110 foreign militants, 66 were killed near the LoC while infiltrating,” he said.
The GOC said that so far this year, they have killed approximately 125-130 militants in the hinterland of the Kashmir valley. “This has resulted in a remarkable change in the situation and you all are aware that to a great extent the agitation which was seen here in earlier part of this year has been brought under control,” he said.
The Corps Commander urged local militants to surrender and join mainstream. He said that the forces are working on two lines of operation. “One line is the counter terror operations, wherein we are targeting the militants. Simultaneously, we want the local militant to return to the mainstream,” he said.
Lt General Sandhu, in address to local militants, asked them to “not act as Pakistan proxies”. “A local militant must realize that it is easy to call yourself a ‘mujahid’ but are you a mujahid or just a proxy for Pakistan?”, the Army Commander asked and said that the security forces are ready to take the surrenders of local militants.
Police said that with the surrender of the footballer, a phase has started where a lot of boys want to come back.”We want the youth, who have joined militancy, to return. We are getting feelers in this regard from various places, but we have also understood that some youth do not know how to return,” police said. Security forces would provide all the help to those youths who decided to abandon militancy. “They will not be harassed and helped more than what they expect,” police said.
Kashmir range Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan ruled out the presence of ISIS in Kashmir. “I am ruling it out,” he said in reply to a query whether Mugees Ahmed Mir was affiliated with the ISIS. “Tehreekul Mujahideen claimed him so wasn’t he a TeM man?”, he asked.
A senior CRPF officer added: “The synergy among the security forces has been excellent and this is significantly responsible for the successes we have been getting.
“A large number of boys about to join militancy have been weaned away. With the surrender of footballer Majid Khan, we are entering a field where lot of local boys are willing to come back. Many boys willing to come back do not know the ways and means. We have opened helpline numbers so that contact can be established with us by those who want to come back”, said the CRPF officer.
In the meantime, security forces recovered six AK-47 rifles, 22 magazines, 3 UBGL grenades, 10 hand grenades, 556 AK-47 rounds, one I-com Radio set, 2 compases, 12 AA batteries, 2 mobiles and four matrix sheets during the operation yesterday.
Sources said that these militants were involved in the killing of Rashid Billa, Muzaffar Ahmad Parray, BSF Rifleman and constable Zaheer Abbas besides in the firing on police and Army parties during last few months.
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