On January 15 Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control but there has been an uptick in terrorist activities in the southern region of Pir Panjal and Rajouri-Poonch over the last few months, reports Daily Excelsior. General Pande said, “The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control. But in the past few months, there has been an increase in terrorist activities in the southern region of Pir Panjal and Rajouri-Poonch.” He added, “There is a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), but from the attempts made to infiltrate, it is clear that the terror infrastructure across the border is intact. Attempts to infiltrate have been foiled by the Army.” The Army chief underlined that the number of terror-related incidents has seen a significant drop in the interior areas of Jammu and Kashmir due to the continuous efforts of the security forces. “We are working with all the stakeholders in a committed manner to uproot the terror network from the country,” he further said.
On January 16, Chinar Corps Commander Lt General Rajiv Ghai said that the security situation in Kashmir is good, but there is still some distance needed to cover to achieve complete peace, reports Daily Excelsior. “…the situation is good. You heard our Army Commander (Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi) also speak about it. It is good, but yet, there is a little distance that we have to move forward (to cover),” the Army officer said. He said the Army is trying to control the aspect of narco-terrorism in Kashmir. “We are completely involved with the UT administration and the Police in trying to control that aspect of terrorism. So, we are working in that direction,” he added.
On January 16, Director General of Police (DGP) R. R. Swain declared that just like police has classified the terrorists in A, B and C categories, the narcotic dealers will also be classified and stern action under law will be taken against them as he sought support of the families to curb the menace, reports Daily Excelsior. “Funds generated from narcotics are being used to finance terrorism in J&K. We will be doing a massive mapping and categorizing the narco-dealers like we have classified terrorists in A, B and C category. We will soon be able to frame a list of narcotics dealers A, B and C,” Swain said.