J&K: Azadi will never happen, says Army chief Bipin Rawat to Kashmir youth; highlights

1. J&K: Azadi will never happen, says Army chief to Kashmir youth; highlights Days after a 22-year-old tourist from Tamil Nadu died after being hit by a stone, during a protest, in Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said he was concerned over Kashmiri youths 'picking up guns' or resorting to stone pelting.

2. In an interview to the Indian Express, Rawat said youth of Kashmir should understand that 'Azaadi' is not possible. “I want to tell Kashmiri youth that Azadi isn’t possible. It won’t happen. Don’t get carried away unnecessarily. Why are you picking up weapons? We will always fight those who seek Azadi, those who want to secede. (Azadi) is not going to happen, never”. Recently, several districts in Jammu and Kashmir was rocked by protests after security forces killed five terrorists, including an assistant professor of Kashmir University, in an encounter in south Kashmir's Shopian district on Sunday. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday chaired an all-party meet to discuss the situation in Kashmir. After the meeting, Mufti said the central government would be approached with a request to halt security force operations during the forthcoming holy Muslim month of Ramadan and the ensuing Amarnath Yatra. General Bipin Rawat's interview and other top developments on Jammu and Kashmir crisis: 1. Bipin Rawat vows to fight back the stone pelters: “Once a stone is thrown at us…once they fire at us.. then there is no way we will not respond and respond sternly. Those who want to fight us, we will fight them," Rawat told the Indian Express. Stressing that there is no 'military solution' to the Kashmir unrest, he said politicians, political representatives should " go into villages especially in South Kashmir to talk to people". Rawat said the Army doesn't enjoy killing, but if anyone wants to “fight us then we will fight you with all our force”. “Kashmiris have to understand that the SFs (security forces) haven’t been so brutal — look at Syria and Pakistan. They use tanks and air power in similar situations. Our troops have been trying their level best to avoid any civilian casualty despite huge provocation,’’ he said. 2. Numbers don't matter, says Rawat: Rawat said he doesn't attach much importance to the number of militants who are killed in encounters with the Army. “These numbers don’t matter to me because I know this cycle will continue. There are fresh recruitments happening. I only want to stress that all this is futile, nothing is going to be achieved by

3. them. You can’t fight the Army”. 3. Centre should consider ceasefire in J-K from Ramzan, says Mufti: The Centre should consider a unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir starting from Ramzan in mid-May till the completion of the Amarnath yatra in August, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday. She made the remarks after chairing a four-hour all-party meeting, which was convened to discuss the present situation in the Kashmir Valley especially after a tourist from Chennai died due to stone pelting on May 7. Mufti appealed to all shades of opinion in joining in the mission to get the state out of violence and bloodshed. Talking to reporters after the meeting, she said, "Everyone (all parties) agreed that we should appeal to the Centre to consider a ceasefire like the unilateral ceasefire in (former PM Atal Bihari) Vajpayee's time in Ramzan (later this month) till Amarnath yatra and Eid." She said a ceasefire would provide relief to the people and help create a better atmosphere in the state.