'Suspension of water treaty a good step'

Pahalgam attack horrific, says former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command DS Hooda

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T Gen DS Hooda (Retd), the former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command, was at the helm when the Indian Army conducted a surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC), targetting terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in retaliation for the deadly Uri attack in September 2016.

Lt. Gen. Hooda, who had a distinguished four-decade-long career during which he played a crucial role in managing security challenges along India's borders with both Pakistan and China and one of the erudite military leaders, talks to Mayank Singh about issues arising out of the Pahalgam terror-strike. Excerpts:

It has been more than 10 days since the terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam. What is your observation specific to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir?

My sense is that things were getting better, particularly in Kashmir. For a couple of years, terrorist incidents shifted to the Jammu region. In Kashmir, I am not saying that incidents were not happening, but the overall violence was reducing, and it was leading to rising tourist footfall. It wasn't as if Pakistan had given up everything.

Does it mean things in the Valley will witness a return to how things were earlier?