Srinagar, Oct 6:  The Army on Wednesday came out strongly against Chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s call to the people to obstruct Forces, especially during cordon and search operations, against militants. 
 A defence PRO statement said: “The statement is a deliberate attempt to incite the local population and whip up passions, while playing with the lives of innocent people, who would be left to the mercy of these militants. Cordon and Search operations are always conducted based on specific intelligence on presence of militants, holed up in built up areas, among the innocent people. Prior to launch of operations, the local population is segregated and moved to safety, with the sole aim of preventing them from being taken hostage by the militants and to avoid casualties in the cross fire.”
 ”Search operations are then carried out systematically in presence of elders and the police and records are maintained to ensure transparency. The success of counter militant operations conducted in the hinterland with no civilian casualties bears testimony, to the drills adopted by the Army.”
 “The Hurriyat leader’s call for the people to resist conduct of such operations, is a ploy to drag the innocent people and expose them to bullets of militants.” 
 ”The Army appeals to the people of Kashmir to avoid falling in this trap of the Hurriyat leader,” the statement added.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 6 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 6 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 7 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST