'J&K people will not be lured into creating divides': Anurag Thakur after Poonch encounter

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday condemned recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. His comments come after one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and four soldiers were martyred during an encounter in J&K's Poonch district. While speaking to the media during the 'Clean India' event in the national capital, Thakur said that the residents of J&K have witnessed terrorism for years and now they want to fight back. 

The Union Minister added that the people who spread terror are against the peace and development that has been prevailing in the valley and hence, carry out such "cowardly attacks." 

'People of J&K will not be lured into creating divides': Anurag Thakur

"People of J&K will not be lured into the attempts of creating divides in society. They want to take forward J&K together. J&K has witnessed terrorism for years and wants to get rid of it. People of Jammu and Kashmir are against terrorists and terrorism. People who spread terror don't like the drive against terrorism in J&K, (where) peace prevailed and developed in the last two years. So they carry out cowardly attacks, civilians too were killed", Thakur told ANI.

Under the month-long 'Clean India' initiative, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday was seen carrying out a cleanliness drive in Delhi as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

J&K: Poonch encounter

An encounter broke out at around 9 AM on Monday after security forces launched a search and cordon operation in the forest area of the Poonch district. The operation was initiated after forces received inputs of terrorist infiltration in the Dera ki Gali (DKG) area of the district. The search operation led to a major encounter that claimed the lives of a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and four other Indian Army soldiers. 

The terrorists took advantage of the dense forest area and attacked the security forces who first received critical injuries and later succumbed to it. Currently, the oppression is underway, with additional enforcement rushed to the spot to nab the terrorists and avoid further human loss.

Earlier, two separate encounters broke in the valley region. One was in Anantnag where an unidentified terrorist was killed. Another one was in Bandipora where a cop was injured but a terrorist affiliated with The Resistance Front (an offshoot of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba) was killed. The terrorist was identified as Imtiyaz Ahmad and he was involved in the recent targeted civilian killings in Kashmir.

(Image: PTI/Republic)