The Indian army has categorically stated that anyone who takes up the gun in the Kashmir Valley will be “killed and eliminated”, unless they surrender.
This statement was made by Chinar Corps commander Lt Gen KS Dhillon at a press conference a day after a 17-hour-long encounter in which 3 Jaish-e-Mohammad leaders were killed. A major and three soldiers were also killed in the encounter.
The encounter took place barely 100 hours after the car bombing of a CRPF convoy on February 14 at Lethpora in Pulwama. Forty CRPF jawans were killed in the suicide bombing.
Addressing the press conference, Lt Gen KS Dhillon said, “Our focus is clear on counter-terrorism operations. We are very clear that anyone who enters Kashmir Valley will not go back alive.”
He followed this up with a request to all the mothers in the Kashmir valley and also a warning that anyone who picks up the gun would be eliminated.
“Anyone who has picked up a gun will be killed and eliminated, unless he surrenders. I request all the mothers in the Valley to ensure that their sons don’t take up the gun,” he said.
“In a Kashmiri society, mother has a great role to play. Through you, I would request the mothers of Kashmir to please request their sons who have joined terrorism to surrender and get back to the mainstream. Anyone who has picked up the gun will be killed and eliminated, unless he surrenders,” Lt Gen Dhillon reiterated.
Lt Gen Dhillon’s statement comes especially after the identification of the man who had attacked the CRPF convoy.
Hours after the convoy was attacked, Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed responsibility for the attack and had identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmad Dar, a 22-year-old local who lived barely 10 kilometres from the attack site.
