Army chief appeals for peace

The chief of Army staff Gen Dalbir Singh on Tuesday appealed to the people of Kashmir to eschew violence and help restore peace.

Gen Dalbir Singh, who was on his second visit to Kashmir during the unrest to review the security situation, made the appeal at 15 Corps Headquarters in Srinagar.

‘Uphold human rights’

While appreciating the professionalism with which the troops had been operating in full synergy with other security and civil agencies, he urged them to uphold human rights and exercise maximum restraint while dealing with the protesters.

Last week, Northern Command chief Lt Gen D S Hooda, while making similar remarks, had described the ongoing unrest as a “tough situation” and appealed to security forces, separatists, governments and students to help restore normalcy and peace in Kashmir.

A defence spokesperson said, accompanied by Lt Gen Hooda and Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen Satish Dua, the army chief visited units in north Kashmir, where he was briefed on the operational preparedness, besides the recent successful counter infiltration operations in which over 10 militants were killed.

Cong welcomes Centre’s move

A day after attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “empty rhetoric” on Kashmir, the Congress on Tuesday cautiously welcomed the Centre’s fresh initiative for dialogue to resolve the volatile situation in the Valley, DHNS reports from New Delhi.
“…if it is the first sign of fresh thinking, we must welcome it,” former home minister P Chidambaram said, referring to Modi’s Monday meeting with the leaders of Opposition parties of Jammu & Kashmir.