Reject Geelani's protest call: Army

The Army’s appeal came a day after the it  joined police and civil administration to effectively counter the protest programme of  Geelani. The appeal was made by defence spokesman Lt Col J S Brar on behalf of the Army during a media briefing on Thursday.
Geelani, while issuing his latest protest calendar, had asked the people to march towards security camps on September 21 and hold demonstrations outside the camps as part of “Quit Kashmir” campaign.

“Such protests have never been peaceful and those turn violent. The separatists incite the innocent people for violence and want to get them killed to defame security forces. We appeal to the people to reject the call for march towards security camps as the Indian army is their own Army protecting them and doing enough for their welfare,” Lt Col Brar said.

However, Geelani while talking to media persons on Thursday afternoon alleged that a wrong impression is being created by the government that  the people are going to attack the security camps.

“We have asked the people to hold peaceful demonstrations outside security camps. The elderly persons will hand over letters to security officers telling them to leave Kashmir,” he said.

On Tuesday, Lt Col Brar in a statement said Lt Gen N C Marwah, security advisor to chief minister and general officer commanding 15 Corps, chaired a meeting of the top brass of Army, police and civil administration. “The meeting discussed the measures to effectively counter the protest calendar issued by the Hurriyat and formulated a detailed joint strategy to restore normalcy in Kashmir. The strategy will be implemented with immediate effect,” he said.

However, on Thursday he said the Army was not part of the government mechanism to deal with law and order problem for last four months. “Our duty is to check internal security (fighting militancy) and guard the borders. But separatists deliberately involved us by asking the people to march towards our camps. Maintaining law and order is primarily the responsibility of police and CRPF, but we have to take the required safety measures to ensure safety of our camps and convoys,” he said.