Army Will Just Check Insurgency, Says Officer

The commander disclosed that during the last two months alone the Army killed about 140 militants, while it lost 30 men in these operations. He said the aim of the Army was to keep militants away from populated areas so that we do not have the type of violence which people fear. We will continue to dominate areas, we have to occupy the hilltops so that militants are kept away from towns and villages.

The GOC incharge disclosed that during this year the Army was able to recover a number of explosives planted by the militants because of information given by locals, who according to the corps commander, were keen to improve the situation.

He also said that there have been largescale attempts by Pakistan to infiltrate into new areas.

The trend now is that about 65 per cent of militants attempting infiltration are Afghans, Pakistanis and people from Pak-occupied Kashmir. The locals who try to sneak back, according to the commander, are those stranded in POK.

The corps commander accepted that there had been a helicopter crash at the Siachen Glacier in which four Air Force personnel and two Army personnel lost lives. Asked whether the crash was a result of firing by Pak soldiers, the commander declined to say anything beyond the enquiry is going on. It is a serious matter and I can tell you nothing beyond that.

When his attention was invited to complaints by local politicians about surrendered militants participating in the elections, the officer said: Instructions to our forces are that whosoever moves with a weapon, whosoever misbehaves and interferes with the elections will be taken in. Any officer who disobeys these orders will be dealt with harshly.

Regarding the role of the Army after a civilian government takes over in the state, he said: An arrangement can be worked out like the one in force in north-east where the Army continues to carry on counter-insurgency operations. The quantum of Army's involvement in such operations will have to be decided by the popular government in J&K.

Meanwhile, bodies of three National Conference workers were recovered by the local police from Chadura in Badgam district. NC sources blame the killings on the surrendered militants.