Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Feb 21: The "remarkable" decrease in the number of local youths joining various militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir has been a result of Operation 'Maa' launched by the army, which also targeted the leaderships of outfits "in a people friendly manner", a top army officer said here. Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, who heads the strategic Kashmir-based XV corps, started Operation 'Maa' whereby a local terrorist trapped in an encounter is made to talk to his mother in a bid to convince him to return to his normal life. "Nothing is lost until your mother can't find it," Lt Gen Dhillon said while explaining that the results of the operation were "worth noting". "In all operations, we extend every opportunity to local terrorists to 'return'. Half way through, the encounters are halted and the parents or society elders are involved to urge the trapped local terrorist to 'return'. This is Operation 'Maa' and we have been successful many times," Lt Gen Dhillon in a written reply. However, details were not made available by the army as this could jeopardise the safety of former militants who are inching towards living normal lives in the national mainstream. He said effective operations, especially against the leaderships of terrorist outfits, are the result of the determined pursuit of joint counter terrorist operations "in a people friendly manner".
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