The war against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir will end only when the other side accepts defeat, said Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Director General of Police (DGP) R.R. Swain on November 27.
Meanwhile, former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti asked Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha to disclose the number of arrests on terror charges in Kashmir.
Speaking in Srinagar after attending a function at Gurdwara Chatti Padshahi, Mr. Swain said, “The war against terrorism in J&K is not over yet. A war ends only when one side accepts defeat and acknowledges that bloodshed is not going to yield any result. So, our fight against terrorism will continue despite bearing some losses at times.”
Pledging not to back down from the fight against terrorism, the DGP said the security forces would proceed despite knowing it entailed losses. “In the ongoing war, what we can do is to ensure minimum loss to the general public and our fighting forces will also do their best to minimise the same. But [even] if there is a challenge of sustaining loss in order to move ahead, we will not step back,” the DGP said.
‘Repressive policies’
Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti alleged that the “repressive measures by various government agencies had endangered the life, property and privacy of people in J&K”.
“Even women were not spared. Though countless people were arrested by agencies like the NIA, CBI, SIA, SIU etc., hardly any information was shared about their fate. Please tell us are they alive or dead, where are they lodged? Which court has remanded them to custody?” Ms. Mufti asked the L-G during a public speech in south Kashmir’s Kulgam on Sunday.
Ms. Mufti said that in spite of so many arrests, there were hardly any convictions by the court. “They all had been picked up on trumped-up charges. This should lead the administration to review its policies,” Ms. Mufti said.
Ms. Mufti asked people to “lend their voice to the efforts for restoration of our rights”. “I am not on a campaign for votes. Positions don’t matter to me but what matters is to speak up for our agenda and our people. I’ll never compromise on that, come what may,” she added.
