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Kashmir situation peaceful as people want it to be: Lt Gen Raju
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 3/2/2021 12:32:27 PM
Srinagar, Mar 1 The past year has been one of the most peaceful in Kashmir with all parameters of violence on a decline as people want it to be so, a top army officer said on Monday, rejecting suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the “quiet” situation. General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Srinagar- based XV Corps, Lt Gen B S Raju also said the ceasefire agreement on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan is a conscious call by both the countries and the task at hand is to make it successful. “The year 2020 has been one of the most peaceful times. The situation in the valley remains fairly normal. All the parameters of violence — be it stone-pelting, agitations or bandhs — have shown a dip,” Lt Gen Raju told reporters here. Raju, who will take charge as the new Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), said while many people would want to believe that the situation in the valley was “quiet” due to the COVID pandemic, “it is not (the case)”. “It is quiet because people want it to be quiet. If something good is happening, it is because the people want it to be,” he said, adding, “We have lots of hopes from the year 2021”. Acknowledging that there have been isolated incidents, the GoC said there were elements who want to generate violence. “They get directions from within and across (the LoC) to attack. There was this Krishna Dhaba attack recently. It was only done to convey a message to the arriving EU delegation that the situation is not peaceful and that things are not normal. It was terrorism in a classic manner,” he said. The XV Corps Commander said the Army reduced its footprints in north Kashmir last year and it is an ongoing process. “When the violence goes down, the methodology changes,” he said. Asked about the emergence of new militant outfits, the GoC said “a militant is a militant” and the name of the outfit does not matter. “We are doing a lot of good work to stop recruitment even as there is continuous social media-based propaganda from the other side,” he said.