NEW DELHI: The Army feels feels that the decision taken by the government to extend President’s Rule in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is right and will help in improving the voter turnout.
Conceding that the situation is not correct for elections at present, a senior Army officer attributed this to the terror support infrastructure. The officer said, “We are doing well on ground and the extension of the President's Rule will help us. The terror support mechanism is intact and this can affect the voter turnout.”
The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Jammu & Kashmir (Reservation) Bill and a statutory resolution to extend President's rule in Jammu & Kashmir by another six months. The extension will start from 3 July.
Speaking on the matter in Lok Sabha Home Minister Amit Shah said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has zero tolerance towards terrorism and we are thoroughly committed to uproot it. This zero tolerance policy is not just for speeches but also in the steps on the ground that we have taken.”
The Army with the support of the other government agencies is working to break the terror support mechanism. “We are being provided with good intelligence inputs by the agencies and with the help of the CAPF and Jammu Kashmir Police we are operating hard and carrying on with active operations eliminating terrorists. National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also busy in dismantling the financial support coming to the terrorists and their supporters.” told the officer.
“The finance is being raised with supply of drugs and also through Hawala. The other method is the under-invoicing by few businessmen who make money and then pass a major portion of it to the terror funding network.” said the officer.
“In next six months we will be in a better state when election can be held better with improved voter turnout.” said the officer. While the Security Forces have eliminated around 120 terrorists till date, around 50 youth have joined the terror ranks in the same period.