In a joint briefing, armed forces say, ‘Top JeM commanders eliminated within 100 hours of Pulwama attack’

Today, in a joint security briefing by the armed forces, Lt General KJS Dhillon, General Officer Commanding (GoC) 15 Corps, said that in less than 100 hours of the Pulwama terrorist attack, armed forces have eliminated the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leadership in the Valley.

Paying homage to the martyrs in the valley, Lt General further stated that defence forces have been tracking top JeM commanders since the February 14 attacks. Issuing a stern warning, Lt General Dhillon said, “Anyone who picks up guns will be eliminated.”

Slamming Pakistan in the briefing for this heinous attack, the army general went on to add, “The investigation is in the advanced stage now. Attack was controlled from Pakistan. JeM is being controlled by the ISI, Pakistan. There is no doubt the Pakistan Army was involved. Cannot share all probe detail right now, but all options open to deal with the new modus operandi.” Dhillon further said.

CRPF also issued a helpline number, 14411, for any Kashmiri youth across the country in wake of the terror attack. “Lot of Kashmiri students have approached this helpline for help all over the country. All Kashmiri children studying outside have been taken care of by security forces,” said CRPF IG, Zulfiquar Hasan.

According to the defence briefing, JeM’s top leadership in the valley, Kamran, was killed in a fierce encounter yesterday. Army further urged civilians to stay away from the encounter site to avoid any civilian casualty. Explaining about the atrocious attack, Zulfiquar Hasan, IG CRPF, went on to add “The incident happened because of an IED-laden civilian car. The road opening party (RoP) had secured the highway. Now, standard operating procedure (SoP) on civilian cars will be changed.”

When asked about the measures taken by the defence forces after the attacks in the valley, SP Pani, IGP, Kashmir stated that anti-terrorism policies in place in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He went on to add, “There is a significant dip in local recruitment, we have not seen any in the last three months. The families are playing a huge role in this.”

Speaking of the dedication and patriotism of the armed forces, KJS Dhillon, Corps Commander of Chinar Corps said, “Brigadier Hardeep Singh, who was on leave due to injury, cut short his leave voluntarily and came to the operation site and led his men from the front.”

In the wake of the terror attack, KJS Dhillon gave a firm warning to the terrorists and Pakistan and added, “Our focus is clear on counter-terrorism operations. We are very clear that anyone who enters Kashmir will not go back alive”. The army general also requested for local people to stand with the armed forces and urged to the mothers of Kashmiris to persuade sons who have joined terrorism to surrender and join the mainstream.