Indian army chief warns Kashmir youths violence futile

New Delhi: Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that the youth in Kashmir must understand that “azadi” (freedom) was not possible as the security forces would keep fighting those who wanted to secede.

“The Kashmiri youth must not get carried away unnecessarily. Those who tell them that his path will bring ‘azadi’ are misleading them. These numbers of militants who are killed in gun battles with the army don’t matter to me because I know this cycle will continue. There are fresh recruitments happening,” General Rawat said.

He stressed that militancy was futile, and nothing was going to be achieved by violence.

“You can’t fight the army. I know that the youth are angry. But attacking security forces, throwing stones at us isn’t the way. The security forces don’t enjoy killing but if anyone wants to fight us then we will fight you with all our force,” he said in an interview to the Indian Express.

General Rawat, however, expressed concern at the youth in the Valley picking up guns.

“Young people are getting excited by [Daesh] flags. Do you know what that means? Do you want to Talibanise Kashmir? Do you want Kashmir to turn into such a society? Do you want to live in such a society? These young people do not understand the meaning of it all. Somebody is inciting these young people,” he stated.

The army chief said that people flocking to sites of encounter incited security forces to become more aggressive.

“I don’t understand why people are coming out in huge numbers to disrupt our operations. Who is inciting them? If they want that the militants aren’t killed, they should go and tell them to come out without their weapons so that nobody is killed. We will halt our operation. We can’t allow people to disrupt our operations and help terrorists to flee,” he stated.

He said he was ready to suspend military operations but needed guarantee that his men would not be attacked.

“Who will guarantee that there won’t be fire at our men, at our vehicles? Who will guarantee that policemen, political workers, our men returning home on leave aren’t attacked, aren’t killed?” he asked.

The army chief said his troops were trying their best to avoid any civilian casualty despite huge provocation.

“Kashmiris have to understand that the security forces in Kashmir have not been so brutal... They use tanks and air power in similar situations,” he said.

Significantly, the army chief said that political representatives from the centre should talk to people in the Valley because the solution had to come from there.

“Right now they are scared that they will be attacked. It will happen once there is calm. And we are hopeful that people will soon realise that all this is futile and start thinking differently,” he said.

He regretted that militancy in Kashmir was taking a toll on development of the state.

“Houseboats and guesthouses are empty. What will those people eat if they don’t earn? We will have a train connecting the Valley to the rest of the country soon – imagine how it will change the fortunes of people. The apple grower in Sopore can send his apples anywhere in the country without any hassle. People have to recognise this development and be thankful. It has to be a two-way process,” the army chief said.