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"Contact tracing" is the new strategy being adopted by the Army in terror-hit Kashmir Valley and under it, friends and relatives of local terrorist recruits or those killed in encounters are located and counselled not to take up the gun in a rush of blood, a top Army official said here. Operation 'Maa' - Indian Army wean J&K youths away from terrorism. In addition to this, efforts are made to contact the families of youths identified as vulnerable to radicalisation so that they too are counselled to guide their wards. Lt Gen B S Raju, who heads the strategic XV-Corps in Kashmir, feels that correct guidance at the right time or vulnerable stage can help prevent misguided youths from taking the wrong step. During his tenure as the head of the 'Victor Force', which comprises many Army units and looks after the four strife-torn districts of South Kashmir, such efforts paid off rich dividends. The force looks after the districts of Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian an...

Representative Image Recent "uncoordinated" acts of violence in North Kashmir are "signs of desperation" by terrorists which are not finding resonance among people who want to get out of the cycle of violence, a fact visible in the sharp dip this year in the recruitment of local youths in terror groups, a senior Army officer has said. Lt Gen B S Raju, heading the Kashmir-based XV corps, feels the basic premise of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is to create sensationalism that is backed by false separatist narratives and propaganda sponsored from Pakistan. These acts of terrorism are "... not finding much favour among the awaam (public), these uncoordinated terrorist acts are a sign of desperation. There is no semblance of any space where terrorists or separatists are in control," Gen Raju told PTI in an email interview. "Overall, the people want a solution, they want to get out of this cycle of violence and that is the reason that the support for terr...