Ignore Badami Bagh chalo call, Army ‘advises’ people

Srinagar: The Army has asked people not to pay heed to the Joint Resistance Leadership’s “misleading” call for a march to Badami Bagh cantonment to protest civilian killings by forces.
The JRL comprising Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Yasin Malik and Syed Ali Geelani called for the Badami Bagh march after forces killed seven civilians and three militants in Pulwama on Saturday.
The Army said it was along with other forces and civil administration fighting “terrorism and proxy war sponsored by Pakistan” in Kashmir.
“The objective of the Security Forces (SFs) is to bring peace and normalcy in the Valley with the support of Awaam,” an army spokesman said in a statement.
Militants killed in gunfights across Kashmir and along the line of control were involved in killing of ” innocent Kashmiris including civilians, SPOs, police personnel and other SF personnel on leave,” the spokesman said.
Forces make “every attempt to avoid any loss of civilian lives in cross-fire and minimise collateral damage to property,” the spokesman said.
“Loss of any civilian life is always painful for the Security Forces. However, the vested interests are continuously at work to instigate and mobilise gullible youths to encounter sites. The call given by JRL for march to Badami Bagh Cantonment is another such attempt,” the spokesman said.
The Army condemns “this call by Pak proxies and advises people not to fall prey to such designs of anti-national forces.”
“Indian Army is always with the people of Kashmir and would foil all such evil attempts of Terrorist-Separatist-Pakistan nexus to pit the civilian population against the Security Forces,” the spokesman said. (GNS)