As situation in strife torn Jammu & Kashmir is slowly improving over the past few months, Pakistan will adopt new tactics of sending in more infiltrators from across the Line of Control (LoC) to keep the State “boiling”, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday.

He also said while the new regime under Prime Minister Imran Khan is “vocally” talking of peace with India, the situation on the LoC, hinterland and propaganda from across the border for radicalisation of youth in the State tells a different story.

Sounding this note of caution, Rawat said the rate of recruitment of local youth in the militant outfits had slowed down in the last four to five months with just three in December last year thereby indicating that the general Kashmiri populace was now realising the futility of violence. Given this fact, the Army Chief, said, however, with more than 300 terrorists waiting across the border to sneak in, the “western” neighbour will try to send infiltrators even during the winter months when snow blocks ingress routes.

When asked about his comments on IAS topper Shah Faesal of Kashmir quitting the service on Wednesday, the Army Chief said it has to be seen if the topper, who achieved all success in the present system, resigned to protest against the number of terrorist killed during encounters or number of local youth picking up gun for the so-called cause. Rawat wondered if Faesal will reach out to the misguided youth to come back into the mainstream and appeal to the youth not to fall prey to radicalisation.

Faesal was the first Kashmiri who topped the coveted IAS examination about ten years back. He quit service to protest against “unabated killings in Kashmir and marginalisation of Indian Muslims.” He also wrote on his Facebook “I wish to remind the regime that subversion of institutions like the RBI, CBI and NIA has the potential to decimate the constitutional edifice of this country and it needs to be stopped.”

On present Kashmir situation, the Army Chief said security forces and Government had adopted twin strategy of “hard power and soft power.” Admitting that earlier even as many terrorists were killed, there was no drop in the number of new recruits, Rawat said it was due to propaganda and fervour during the funeral of the slain terrorists.

In an effort to wean away the gullible minds from jumping the fence after attending such funerals, the agencies started restricting the number of people attending such occasions and it was now bearing results, he said. Moreover, the agencies were now approaching parents of those youth picking up the gun so that they could pressurise their wards to return to the mainstream and this was also bearing some results, Rawat said. Giving an example, in December last year only three young men joined militancy as against the earlier trend of ten to 15 per month, Rawat said the local population was realising once a youth picks up gun he will be finally neutralised.

Courtesy:The Pioneer,Jan11,2019