General-officer-Commanding of the Indian Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen Anil Kumar Bhatt at B B Cantt at Sonwar, Srinagar. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)The military can only have a limited role, with solutions critical for resolving the larger Kashmir issue lying in the realm of politics — good governance, and political engagement as witnessed during the Vajpayee years, according to the Army's Valley chief, Lt Gen A K Bhatt.
“The military can only create conditions of normalcy. Beyond that, the initiatives have to be at levels of good governance, politically talking to people. During the Vajpayee era, it has happened, and similar initiatives the government will take at the right moment. I am sure they will,” General Officer Commanding (GoC), 15 Corps, Lt Gen Bhatt said in an interview to The Sunday Express.
“One of the main things is to find the methods and means to convince the youth that the path of violence will not deliver anything. And second, more importantly, is to work in the psychological space with the populace of Kashmir, to tell them that their future is far better in India than in Pakistan… that they are only being used as tools by the Jamaat, by the separatists and Pakistan,” he said.
About the Army's role, Bhatt said, it was to ensure that peace was maintained. “Of course long-term solutions, the…
