Srinagar, Nov 23 (PTI) The number of militants in the Valley has come down below hundred and the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is better than before, the union territory’s police chief Dilbag Singh said on Wednesday.
He said security forces have been doing a commendable job which has led to better results on ground.
“I feel happy to inform you that the security situation is improving and is better than before,” J-K Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh told reporters in Anantnag after reviewing the security situation in south Kashmir.
On militant attacks on non-locals and minorities in the Valley, he said such actions were condemnable.
“These are barbaric attacks. They are attacking common people who come to Kashmir for their livelihood. Police and security forces have taken action whenever such attacks have happened. Some of those involved in the killing of innocent people have been killed in encounters. They face the same fate,” he said.
The DGP said there is a need for society to condemn such attacks in the strongest possible terms.
“Society needs to stand up against such crimes and we cannot remain silent on it…It is our responsibility also to keep labourers from outside safe and secure.
“People have to a large extent expressed their resentment against such attacks but, it is not enough and people have to identify terrorists or their supporters and humiliate them in society. As far as police action is concerned, people indulging in such crimes will not be forgiven,” he added.
About the number of militants present in the Kashmir valley, Singh said, “it is for the first time after a very long time that the number of terrorists – both FTs (foreign terrorists) and locals — has fallen to two digits”. “The number of militants is south Kashmir has fallen to the lowest ever. It is because of people’s support and the synergy between the forces and a result of good operations (by the forces),” he said.
Appealing to parents and society to make sure children do not fall prey to the narrative aimed at the destruction of Kashmir, he said they need to show the right path to the children. “Our social and religious leaders need to get involved in this.” The DGP said no person was getting harmed in the security forces’ action and people in the Valley were living their lives like those other parts of the country.
“Schools are functioning without any disruption. There is no hartal. People calling for hartals have been wiped out. If the fake chapter of Hurriyat in Pakistan calls for strikes, it finds no support from people here.
“Journalists have the courage to say the right things, but Kashmir Fights like useless blogs threaten them. It is up to all of us to either adopt or condemn and make unsuccessful this narrative which is against Kashmir, against the peace and development in Kashmir.
“We have to use every platform available to us to make these ploys, which originate from Pakistan, unsuccessful,” he said.
Singh said narcotics were a bigger crime than terrorism as far as the collective health of society was concerned.
“Terrorists carry out sporadic attacks, while narcotics destroys families together and society as well. The J-K police has vowed to fight narcotics-related crime. More than 500 cases have already been registered so far this year,” he said. PTI SSB
