The top officials ofthe Jammu and Kashmir’s security grid Friday said that in the next few months,they will try to ensure that the normalcy is fully restored across the Valleyso that people resume the activities of their choice in peaceful manner.

They also statedthat this year so far over a 100 militants were killed that include 50 from theHizbul Mujahideen alone and 20 each from Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Toibawhile remaining were from Ansaar Gazwat-ul-Hind and other small militant groupslike Albadr etc.

Addressing a jointpress conference at the army’s Srinagar based 15 Corps headquarters, Generalofficer Commanding (GoC) 15 Corps Lieutenant General B S Raju said that overthe past 24 hours, security forces on ground did a wonderful job by killingeight militants in two separate gunfights in South Kashmir’s Pulwama andShopian districts.

“In one of thegunfights, where militants had gone inside a mosque, the forces on groundexercised extreme restraint and no damage was caused to the religious place.With every operation we are moving on the path of peace. I can feel it on groundthat there is a palpable difference in the situation.”

Flanked by DirectorGeneral of Police (J&K) Dilbagh Singh, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar and IG CRPFRajesh Kumar, the GoC Raju said that the successful operations are taking placewith the active support of people. “In next few months, we will try to ensurethat the normalcy is restored in full across the Valley so that people resumeall kinds of activities in a peaceful manner,” the army officer was quoted assaying by local news gathering agency Kashmir News Observer.

He said that thisyear so far 102 militants have been killed in various operations. “There havebeen only one or two civilian casualties and that’s because of theextra-ordinary restraint exercised the forces on ground,” he said. “This year49 youth had joined various militant ranks of which 27 were killed. It doesn’tgive us a pleasure to kill young boys. But if anybody picks up arms we will dowhat we are doing.”

The GoC said thatthere was a limited success in persuading the youth who get trapped inencounters, to surrender. “But we have been able to prevent the new recruitmentand to identify those behind the militant recruitment in Kashmir. My appeal tothe people across Kashmir is to come forward and help us preventing youth fromtreading the wrong path and to bring back those who have picked up arms,” hesaid, adding that “We assure them proper rehabilitation.”