Security forces have intensified anti-terror operations after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, eliminating six hardcore terrorists in the past three days in Kashmir.
The army said on Thursday that the longest surviving militant commander who was gunned down on Wednesday by the security forces in north Kashmir's Ganderbal district was responsible for 30 civilian killings.
Killing of two youngsters allegedly in army firing triggered massive protests in Markundal village of north Kashmir's Bandipore district on Sunday.
This is the second encounter in the district in as many days.
"The killing of Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai alias Fauji Baba, a Pakistani national, is a big success for security forces as he was a master in assembling improvised explosive devices for JeM," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar.
Lieutenant General B S Raju, who will take over as the new DGMO, handed over the charge of the strategic XV Corps of the Army, which guards the Line of Control in Kashmir Valley, to Lt Gen D P Pandey.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition, which includes an AK-47 rifle, magazines, grenades, RPG-7 rocket launcher, was recovered from the encounter site, he said.
'What has changed is the desperation of Pakistan proxies and the separatists in their failure to foment violence and civilian casualties in Kashmir.'
Major General B S Raju said a full scale cordon-and-search operation, like the one conducted in Shopian recently, will be carried out only in places where the army's operations are hampered.
The General Officer in Command of south Kashmir-based Victor Force, Major General B S Raju, who visited Fayaz's residence on occasion of chahrum (the fourth day mourning), praised the "brave family" of the officer and said the army will always stand by them.
The Pampore attack in Jammu and Kashmir "appeared to be" the handiwork of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror outfit, Central Reserve Police Force Director General Prakash Mishra said.
After 'Operation Calm down' in South Kashmir, Army is now focussing on another operation -- 'School Chalo', under which it identifies areas and provides students with free coaching and make them participate in extra-curricular activities.
'The scope of cordon and search operations has changed drastically.' 'Operations are now more focused, intelligence driven and involve very small cordons with minimum inconvenience to the people.' 'This has been the humanisation of conflict.' 'It has come to be institutionalised in the army's concept.' 'General Rawat has been schooled in this thinking and when he makes a statement it is with full consciousness of the institutionalised concept,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), the former GOC 15 Corps in Srinagar and the officer acclaimed as the 'People's General'.
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