The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Northern Command of the Indian Army, Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh on May 20 said that Pakistan was trying to keep the pot of militancy boiling by radicalizing Kashmiri youth through social media to pick up guns, reports Daily Excelsior. He said that 40 youngsters have joined militancy in the Valley this year (2019) so far though the number has declined over the previous years due to outreach programme of the Army with teachers and families of the youth. At the same time, he said, 86 militants have been neutralized this year while 20 others have been apprehended in the Valley till date.
Describing situation in Jammu and Kashmir as ‘under control’, the Army Commander, who has regularly been taking visits to forward areas on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir as well as hinterland, said Pakistan continued to indulge in anti-India activities by trying to infiltrate militants and promote drug trafficking. However, he declared that Army will not allow terror to take roots in Jammu region. Singh also said that Pakistan army has failed in infiltrating militants and, therefore, was trying to radicalize local youth through social media to pick up guns in the Valley.