Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 17

The Army has said the situation in the conflict-torn Kashmir valley, where the number of youth joining the militant ranks has been on the rise, is stable but fragile.Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh made this statement earlier this week during a review of the security situation and after conducting a tour of the Line of Control as well as the hinterland, said sources.“If I was to give you an overview of the situation in Kashmir, it is stable however fragile. The violence parameters which we have seen in 2018 are relatively better as compared to 2017 and earlier years. You would have all seen that there were a large number of stone-throwing activities last year but this year it is relatively less,” he said at the meeting.The Northern Command chief held Pakistan responsible for vitiating the atmosphere in the state by pushing in militants from across the LoC. “Security forces are in full control, and we should be able to handle any of the contingencies that may arise,” he observed.So far this year, 128 youth have joined militancy whereas over 123 were killed both on the LoC and in hinterland. As many as 52 security forces personnel have also been killed. There have been 137 infiltration attempts this year.