No one willing to take up JeM leadership in the Valley: Army
Srinagar: Lt Gen K J S Dhillon Wednesday said after the Pulwama terror attack the security forces launched an offensive against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the valley, resulting in a situation where no one is willing to take up the leadership of the outfit.
"Forty-one militants were killed. Twenty-five of them belonged to JeM. Thirteen were foreign terrorists -- Pakistanis and category A plus and above," said Lt Gen Dhillon, at a joint press briefing accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir's Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh and Inspector general, CRPF, Zulfiqar Hassan at the police control room here.
"We targeted the JeM leadership and the situation now is such that there is no one willing to take up the leadership of the JeM in the valley. In spite of Pakistan's best efforts, we will continue to suppress the JeM," Lt Gen Dhillon, who is the Commander of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, said.
DGP Singh said 2018 and the year so far had been successful in containing militancy in the valley, barring stray incidents, including the February 14 Pulwama terror attack.
"This year, stone-pelting and law and order engagements reduced drastically. We did face some law and order situations during counter-insurgency operations, but those have been fewer than before," Singh said.
He said the recruitment of local youths into militancy has dipped. "That is a very healthy sign. There were very large-scale successes in counter-insurgency operations. Two-seventy-two terrorists were neutralised in 2018 and many were apprehended," he said, adding "we stopped a very big number of youths from joining the wrong path (militancy)."
The state's top cop said militants killed last year included many commanders of JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
"A total of 46 foreign militants have been killed last year and in the current year -- 27 belonged from JeM and 19 from LeT. Foreign elements getting neutralised has made a big dent to the ongoing militancy," he said.
The DGP said the successes during the current year have been quite commendable and troops on the ground have done a very good job.
He also said planning by the officers led to smooth conduct of the first three phases of the Parliamentary polls.
"Around 70 militants have been neutralised and a large number have been apprehended. The law and order has been generally under control. We haven't experienced much law and order problems during this election - the three phases of which are over. Minor issues have been there, but there has not been poll-related violence as experienced in 2017 because of very good planning by the officers on the ground. We do hope the rest of the two phases pass off peacefully," he said. Elections will be held in the state on April 29 and May 6 as part of phases 4 and 5.
Stating the LeT in Hajin area of Bandipora district killed an innocent 13-year boy during an encounter with the security forces, Lieutenant General Dhillon asked the people whether it was 'jehad' (holy war) or 'jehalat' (barbarism).
Lt Gen Dhillon said operations against militants in the hinterland and along the Line of Control will continue with full vigour and they will not let terrorism rise to the serious levels as before.
He urged the local militants to surrender. He requested the youths to not come close to the encounter sites.
He said the biweekly ban on civilian traffic on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was a "temporary measure". The DGP said after the last two phases of the elections were completed, the traffic ban will be reviewed.
"I think it is under review by the government and after the two phases of elections in south Kashmir are over, more relaxation is expected," he said.
When asked about fewer encounters taking place after the polls commenced, Singh said the operations are on, but the engagements have lessened as the security forces' focus is on the peaceful conduct of elections.
Referring to the poll percentage in the first leg of the poll in south Kashmir, he said the poll percentage was a reflection of the prevailing situation.
"A percentage of around 13 per cent is good considering the situation in south Kashmir. People showed courage and voted despite threats. It is everyone's right and no one can be forced to vote either," he said.
The DGP said a militant was arrested from Bathinda area of Jammu in connection with a blast in Banihal earlier this month. "He is linked to the Banihal blast case and is being investigated. We will share further details with you later," Singh said.
He said the security forces take every input about militant attack seriously.
"We spend sleepless nights, that is our job. We spend more sleepless nights these days because of inputs. These inputs cannot be ignored and we take them very seriously," he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
