J&K: Army, Police Appeal Terrorists To Surrender And Return To Mainstream

Top officials of the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police have 'invited' all active terrorists of South Kashmir to surrender and join the mainstream.

Srinagar: Top officials of the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday 'invited' all active terrorists of South Kashmir to surrender and join the mainstream. Making this offer during an 'interaction' with the families of active terrorists, the commander of the Army in Kashmir said that if their children surrender even during a live encounter, the Army will save them even by risking their own life.

General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lt Gen Devendra Pratap Pandey, and Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, Shopian, during the meeting – “Jashn-e-Janub”, a sports festival held in the militancy-hit Shopia district of South Kashmir, gave this message after interacting with the families of terrorists from all over South Kashmir.

Case Will Not Be Registered Against Surrendered Terrorists

The meeting with the families of the terrorists was organised on the sidelines of a sports function that took place at Batpura Stadium in Shopia, south Kashmir. It was the first sports festival to be held in South Kashmir.

The families of the terrorists were also called to participate in this sporting event where the Army made this big announcement to bring the terrorists back into the mainstream. The army has said that no case will be registered against the terrorists who surrendered on the request of the family.

We Will Be Responsible For Their Safety: DP Pandey

General Officer Commanding 15 Corps DP Pandey said, "If your children are afraid that some other terrorist might kill them, then there is no need to tell this (surrender) to everyone. They can quietly go to any nearby army camp or police station and after that, we will be responsible for their safety."

General Pandey appealed to the families to bring their children back into the mainstream and it would be our responsibility to protect them from the army side. There are still 200-250 terrorists active in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which there are more than 150 terrorists in South Kashmir itself.

These include about 25-30 new boys who have joined in the last six months. Of the 102 terrorists killed in 2021, 75 percent were from four districts of South Kashmir - Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopia.