The Army on Friday appealed for calm in Kashmir and said that everybody needs to “step back”, and put their heads together to find an amicable solution to the crisis the scenic Valley has been caught
The Army on Friday appealed for calm in Kashmir and said that everybody needs to “step back”, and put their heads together to find an amicable solution to the crisis the scenic Valley has been caught in.
Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, after holding a meeting with governor N.N. Vohra to discuss the prevailing situation in the Valley, told reporters here that he would urge everyone involved to look at ways to de-escalate it than provoking it further. During his meeting with the governor, GOC of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. S.K. Dua was also present.
“The governor and Lt. Gen. Hooda discussed various issues related to obtaining internal security situation and the need for the security forces exercising restraint in dealing with arising incidents,” a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of the Army troops’ killing 27-year-old college lecturer Shabir Ahmed Mongu in their custody, after he and about thirty other residents, mostly youth, were picked up by them during nocturnal raids at their houses at Khrew on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday. Over a dozen civilians were treated in hospitals after they received injuries on their thighs, waist, lower back and hips in the Army “brutality”.
Lt. Gen. Hooda said that such raids have not been sanctioned by the Army and hence will not be tolerated by it. “These raids were not sanctioned in the first place. It is unjustified. Nobody can support it and it will not be tolerated,” he said. He added that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
Replying to yet another question, he said that the encounter that led to killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8 was not a staged encounter. “It did not finish in two-and-half minutes. Information about the presence of Burhan Wani (inside the house where he was killed) was not available (before hand),” he said. Asked about the possibility of spurt in militant attacks after the unrest in Kashmir, he said militants will always try for an upsurge in the violence. “I do not see the situation going out of hand (due to militancy related violence). Our posture is ready for it,” he said.
He also said that while security forces have been directed to exercise maximum restraint, the other side also needs to see that security forces, police stations and bases of security forces are not attacked.
“The cycle of conflict and violence has been going on for more than 40 days now and no one is going to get away from it unhurt,” he said. He added, “My appeal is for calm. We have to sit down, put our heads together and see if we can find a way out of this situation.”
Elaborating, he said, “So everybody, who is in anyway involved in J&K, needs to introspect and see what we can do to stop it. It is not one person or one organisation which can do it (alone).” He also said that his was a statement of facts because everybody is involved whether it is security forces, separatists, governments or students’ leaders. “My appeal is to everyone. We need to find a way forward from this,” he said pointing out that the unrest has affected the children who cannot go to school, the youth who are in hospitals, the employees who cannot report to duty and the traders whose business has turned upside down and even the policemen and security forces.
When asked if his appeal was addressed also to the separatists, Lt. Gen. Hooda said “everyone needs to step back. Where are the protest calendars coming from ” Replying another question, he said that a decision has been taken that Army will provide assistance to paramilitary forces and the J&K police in securing the highways and district roads in order to ensure movement of vehicular traffic during the day. “This will instil a sense of normalcy. Law and order is dealt with by the police and CRPF. We will provide whatever assistance in terms of reinforcement at police stations where the number of police personnel is low,” he said. Asked if there was a possibility of Army taking over Kashmir, Lt Gen Hooda said “the situation is not there for the Army to take over”.
He admitted that the unrest has affected the counterinsurgency operations but said that the security forces will resume these in right earnest. “The civil disturbance has affected the operations, particularly in South Kashmir. A deliberate decision has been taken to go after the terrorists. It will start in right earnest,” he said. He also said that the counterinsurgency grid in north Kashmir was functioning properly as was witnessed during the operation near the Line of Control in which four militants were killed and one Pakistani resident Bahadur Ali was captured alive last month. He also spoke about another infiltration bid made in Uri sector recently but was foiled by alert soldier defending the de facto border.
He further said that the counter-infiltration grid was alert and the borders continue to remain secure, notwithstanding the situation in the Valley. “We have not pulled out one soldier from the borders. The borders continue to remain secure. Our counter-infiltration posture is strong. An infiltration bid was foiled in Uri sector recently,” he said.
Asked if there have been any fresh recruitment from within the Valley into the militant outfits, the Army commander said that everyone was worried about young boys joining militant ranks in the wake of the unrest in Kashmir. “Everyone is worried be it the Central government, the State government, the security forces or Army. There are no easy answers that we will do this or that which will stop it,” he said.
Earlier Lt. Gen., Satish Dua, said that the protests which erupted immediately after the killing of Wani were spontaneous. He, however, also said that the protests were followed by “engineered violence”. He said, “The situation (right now) is far from normal. For the initial few days after July 8, there were spontaneous protests. Thereafter we have seen a cycle of almost engineered violence”. He blamed Pakistan for trying to take advantage of the current unrest in the Valley.
