Militancy in Kashmir will be stamped out by year-end: Army

The Army on Sunday expressed optimism about putting an end to militancy in Kashmir by the end of this year.

Stretching his “Awami Mulaqat” (interaction with the people) programme to north Kashmir, the General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. S.A. Hasnain told a gathering in Handwara that the threat of militancy could increase anytime since training camps were still operational in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

“The training camps in PoK are full and the militants trained there are waiting to infiltrate into Kashmir. So we can't say the militancy has decreased,” he said. But he was confident that “the Army is ready to challenge any infiltration bid along the Line of Control.”

Maintaining that Kashmir was an existential threat to peace, he said there could be no military solution to the problem. “All problems can be resolved through political means.”