Chief of Army assures peace in Jammu & Kashmir

Forces interacting with Kashmiris normally in J&K

Stating that the forces are interacting with Kashmiris “normally” like before, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said the security forces would continue to meet them without guns like they used to in 1970s-80s.

Talking to mediapersons in Delhi General Rawat said, “If the adversary wants to activate the LoC, that’s their choice. Everybody does precautionary deployment, we should not get too concerned about it.”

He added, “Our interaction with Kashmiri people is normal like earlier. We used to meet them without guns in the 70s and 80s and we hope that we continue to meet them without guns.”

The Army chief has said the forces are prepared for any kind of adverse actions by Pakistan.

His comments came just a day after Eid-al-Adha was celebrated peacefully across Jammu and Kashmir which lost its special status on August 6, 2019, after President Ram Nath Kovind signed the Article 370 gazette.

The security apparatus in the state has been on high alert to tackle the threat of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the wake of scrapping of Article 370 and 35A.