‘Peaceful J&K on right path’

srinagar: Kashmir is at the cusp of a new beginning as the security situation in the Valley is “peaceful and stable” but reducing the footprints of security forces is not recommended at this stage, a top Army officer said here on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, who is relinquishing the command of one of the most elite formations of the Army, said Kashmir has had a “good year” and sustaining this peace is the biggest challenge for

the security forces.

Lt Gen Ghai has been appointed as the next Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). “I am sanguine that the situation in the Kashmir Valley is peaceful and stable and that the Chinar Corps, over the last 16 months that I have been at the helm, has tried valiantly hard to guard our borders, negate numerous attempts at infiltration by inimical elements, while also simultaneous(ly) prosecuting a very robust and successful counter-terrorist campaign within the Kashmir,” he said.

Over the last one-and-a-half years, there were numerous significant events here and a lot of development in the region, Lt Gen Ghai said.

“This has been facilitated by a stable security situation brought about by very very significant efforts put in by Chinar Corps and its sister agencies like the J&K Police, CAPFs, and numerous other security agencies,” he said. “Today, as I am about to leave, I realise that the region is at the cusp of a new beginning,” he added.

He said that terrorism today is “largely fuelled from across the border”. “We have not had any active recruitment in the last year-and-a-half. The numbers last year were down to a dozen. This year, they are almost next to nil. If you look at the incidents that we have had this year, softer targets have been picked,” he said.