Do not to march towards Badami Bagh today: Army to people

Srinagar, Dec 16: The Indian army on Sunday asked people not to march towards 15 corps headquarters situated at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on call of the Joint Hurriyat Leadership.
On Saturday, three militants were killed in an encounter at Sirnoo village of Pulwama and seven civilians were shot dead by government forces during the clashes erupting near the encounter site in the area.
In a statement issued on Sunday, an army spokesperson: “Indian Army is always with the people of Kashmir and would foil all such evil attempts of militant-Separatist-Pakistan nexus to pit the civilian population against the security forces.”
“The public is once again advised not to pay heed to this misleading call by JRL,” the spokesperson said.
He said the Indian army along with all the security agencies and the civil administration is “fighting militancy and Proxy War, sponsored by Pakistan and its proxies in Kashmir.”
“The objective of the Security Forces (SFs) is to bring peace and normalcy in the Valley with the support of Awaam,” he said.
On civilian killings, the army spokesperson said the security forces make every attempt to avoid any loss of civilian lives in “cross-fire and minimise collateral damage to property.”
“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,” he said.
“The call given by Joint Hurriyat for march to Badami Bagh Cantonment is another such attempt,” he said, adding the Indian army strongly condemns this call by “Pak Proxies and advises people not to fall prey to such designs of anti-national forces.”
The Joint Hurriyat Leadership said on Saturday that “it would be far better for India” to “finish Kashmiris off once and for all” as “the Government of India (GoI) is only interested in our territory and forcibly holding it while systematically eliminating the people”.
“That is why leadership has asked the GOI to do that as we march towards their army headquarters in Badami Bagh on Monday. Or else, stop the killings and massacres and resolve the dispute and save human lives,” a statement issued by the JRL said.
Meanwhile, Army on Sunday paid tributes to the soldier killed during the encounter in Pulwama on Saturday.
Sepoy Sowar Kishan Singh, 29, was wounded during the encounter in Sirnoo village of Pulwama on Saturday and later succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital.
Lt Gen AK Bhatt, Chinar Corps Commander and all ranks paid homage to the slain soldier
Kishan Singh had joined the Army in 2010. He belonged to Village Bhinchri of Ratangarh Tehsil in Churu, Rajasthan and is survived by his wife and two sons.
“His mortal remains were taken for last rites to his native place, where he would be laid to rest with full military honours,” the spokesman of the Army said in a statement.