Army chief of staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane claimed on Saturday that the army has the “full support of people in Jammu and Kashmir” and “they don’t have a harsh word” against the men in olive green.
“Everyone in Jammu and Kashmir, be it on LoC or hinterland, is doing a tremendous job. We have full support of people. We are grateful to local police and administration who support us. They don’t have a harsh word to say about the army,” General Naravane said at a press conference, according to ANI.
He defended the conduct of troops in Kashmir Valley and said that complaints against officers were not true.
“The judgment call of the commander on ground has to be respected. All the complaints that have been filed have proved to be unfounded,” he said.
Kashmir has been under heavy security since the Centre scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status last August and downgraded the state to two union territories. The government claims that the heavy security deployment has prevented any bloodshed in the valley where many political leaders including three former chief ministers are still under arrest.
The government also claims that the situation is in the valley is normal. This week, a group of 15 envoys and diplomats met security officials, politicians and civil society representatives in Srinagar as part of the first such visit organised by the government Parliament revoked J&K’s special status on August 5, 2019, and imposed restrictions on movement and communication.
On Friday, the Supreme Court pulled up the J&K government over the telecommunication blackout and said access to the internet is a fundamental right by extension and that the curbs cannot go on indefinitely.
