Unite against killing of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, Army chief General Bipin Rawat says

NEW DELHI: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday urged the youth of Kashmir to unite in protest against the barbaric killing of Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, holding that they should realise that the terrorism promoted by Pakistan was impeding the development of J&K.

With some Kashmiri youth being "misguided" against the security forces and the J&K administration by propaganda through social media and other means, Gen Rawat said it was time for all of them to come together to criticise the killing of Lt Fayaz.

"Lt Fayaz, who was from Kashmir Valley, had worked hard to first get into the National Defence Academy and then get commissioned into the Rajputana Rifles in December last year. He was a brave youngster... he went for a family wedding but was killed with cruelty on a festive occasion," the Army chief said.

"Kashmiri youth should introspect and learn a lesson from this sad incident. They should sit together and discuss if they are on the right path. They should expose those who promote terror," he told a television channel.

J&K police has swiftly established that three terrorists, led by local Hizb operative Abbas Ahmad Bhat, were behind the brutal killing of Lt Fayaz in Shopian, of south Kashmir last Tuesday.

"Our aim is to take action against the three, and any other persons involved, by carrying out intelligence-based operations," Gen Rawat said.

The Army was "a professional force" which was extremely careful about not violating human rights," he said.

"Apart from the focus on preventing infiltration from across LoC, the Army will continue operations in south Kashmir, where the situation has slightly deteriorated," Gen Rawat said.