Army Chief General Bipin Rawat claimed that Pakistan was likely to instigate violence in Jammu and Kashmir to internationalise the matter amid rising hostilities between the two countries since New Delhi revoked the state’s special status, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

“From the rhetoric and false information campaign launched by Pakistan, it is evident they are likely to create a situation to instigate violence,” Rawat said, adding that the narrative of violence in the state will be projected internationally to show that people of Jammu and Kashmir are protesting against the removal of special status to the region.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under an unprecedented lockdown since August 5, when the central government decided to revoke its special status and split it into two union territories. Thousands of troops have been deployed to prevent violence and protests in the region and communication lines have been cut in most parts. The authorities have claimed that the restrictions would be eased gradually. However, protests in the Valley have made it difficult to do so.

“We must gradually allow the people to appreciate the benefits that will accrue to them with the actions taken by the government,” the Army chief said. “Curbs on social media will prevent the spread of disinformation and therefore our actions should be calibrated.”

He said preventing loss of life in Jammu and Kashmir was a priority for the Army. “The situation in J&K, and the Valley, in particular, must be managed to avoid loss of innocent lives,” Rawat said.

Rawat had earlier said there was no need for concern over the deployment of military resources by Pakistan along the Line of Control in the last few days. He had also said that Indian soldiers were “always prepared should anything go wrong”.

The chiefs of all the three wings of the armed forces have said over the past month that they were completely prepared to thwart any attempts at terrorism. On Monday, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh had said they had received intelligence inputs that an “underwater wing” of the Jaish-e-Mohammad was training its members to carry out attacks, but added that all coastal security personnel were making sure no intrusion occurs from the sea.

On August 20, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had said that they were “cautious and alert” enough to face any incidents on the border. Dhanoa said the Indian Air Force was prepared “not only when any enemy fighter comes in but we also keep an eye on civilian aircraft so that incidents like Purulia airdrop do not happen”. On December 17, 1995, a Russian plane with a Latvian crew and passengers that included a British arms dealer and a Danish smuggler flew over West Bengal, dropped 2,500 AK-47 weapons and 1,500,000 rounds of ammunition over five villages in Purulia district and took off for Thailand.

Cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since New Delhi’s August 5 announcement that Jammu and Kashmir’s special status would be revoked. Pakistan, which has fought three wars with India for Kashmir since Independence, has not taken this move well.

New Delhi’s actions were swiftly condemned by Islamabad, which downgraded diplomatic ties and ended bilateral trade. Since then, Pakistan has raised the Kashmir matter at the United Nations Security Council, and has talked of raising it at the UN Human Rights Council and the International Court of Justice as well.

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