Days after nine Army personnel including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) were indicted by a court enquiry for mistakenly opening fire and killing two youths on the outskirts of Srinagar, Northern Command chief lt General DS Hooda has written a letter to all his officers not to fall prey to propaganda assuring them that no one will be “unfairly harmed”. He, however, said the conduct of operations need to change in sync with the prevailing environment.
Hooda, who had publicly admitted that that the Army had committed a mistake in the incident which took place on November 3 at a check post, called for adopting “a more nuanced approach, which balances local aspirations with controlling terrorist violence.”
The Northern Command’s letter was issued last week in the backdrop of widespread condemnation of the incident and questions raised in media about the “swiftness” with which the Court of Inquiry worked and gave its findings within a fortnight of the killings.
Opining that the print, electronic and social media are powerful tools which sway not only public opinion but also sentiments of Army officers and men, Hooda urged them not to fall “prey to them.” He said the only way to counter this is by “our own conviction that what we are doing is professionally correct and honourable.” Hooda said mistakes will happen and he appreciates the difficulties under which the Army operates. “let me assure you nobody will be unfairly unharmed. This clear message must go out to all units.”
Praising the Army for bringing the proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir under control, Hooda, however, admitted the peace was fragile. The situation now was more demanding than in the past when “terrorist kills (number of terrorists killed by a battalion)” were the most important indicator in gauging “our achievements,” he said.
Stressing upon a more nuanced approach, the Northern Command chief said while in theory this aspect is largely understood, the application on ground needs further refinement.
“Unfortunately, our metrics for determining success in counter-insurgency operations have not kept pace with the changing environment, and this too has contributed to some confusion in our minds,” he said. He asked all commanding officers to focus on training and education of officers and men to drive home the circumstances and the conditions in which the Army operates and our code of conduct.