Indian army chief warns Kashmiris, says freedom not possible

India's army chief Bipin Rawat on Thursday warned the youth of occupied Kashmir to not resist the occupational forces as "freedom was not possible" and they can not fight Indian forces, reported the Indian Express.

“The numbers of militants who are killed in gunbattles with the army don’t matter to me because I know this cycle will continue. I only want to stress that all this is futile, nothing is going to be achieved by them. You can’t fight the army,” asserted the Indian army chief in an exclusive interview.



The Indian general surprisingly claimed that "security forces have not been so brutal" and added that Indian troops "try their level best to avoid any civilian casualties", a claim proved wrong time and again by brutal Indian tactics used in Kashmir and caught on camera.

“I know that the youth are angry. But attacking security forces, throwing stones at us isn’t the way,” he said.

The Indian army chief also blamed Kashmiris for inciting security forces and said, "They are inciting security forces to become more aggressive".

The Indian COAS reiterated that the army has been criticised for using extreme force in the state and even shed light on how violence broke out after the murder of Burhan Wani.

“Until June 2016, everything was fine. What is that incited people so much because of that one encounter? Everything was turned upside down in a few days’ time. The entire south Kashmir was out in the streets, throwing stones at us, attacking our posts,” he stated.

 

Rawat also said a military solution does not exist for the Kashmir issue and dialogue should be held with Kashmiris.

He boasted that youngsters in occupied Kashmiri who have picked up guns are not a big challenge for the Indian army. The Indian armed forces have deployed at least 500,000 troops in occupied Kashmir to control the security situation.



 

Gen Rawat claimed the people in Kashmir must understand the turmoil is taking a toll on the development of the state and that tourism has even been affected.