Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday lodged an FIR against a TV channel for showing two innocent students as militants.

A police spokesman said that pictures of Farhan Shafi, a Class 12 student, and Farhat Rashid, a diploma holder, were telecast as militants in place of a dead militant, Farhan Wani.

Farhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Larnoo village on Jan.9.

“The news channel on the same day showed both the innocent youths as militants. A case has been registered and investigation has started,” an officer said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday issued avalanche warning in seven districts of the Valley, an official said.

“Avalanche warning has been issued for avalanche-prone areas in Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Anantnag and Badgam districts.

“The warning shall be valid from 5 p.m. today (Wednesday) till 5 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday). People living in avalanche-prone areas in these districts have been advised to move about with extreme caution if such movement becomes unavoidable,” said the official, adding that officials of these districts have been advised to take precautionary measures.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday interacted with a group of school children from Jammu and Kashmir and wished them well for a better future.

The group of 26 children, of classes 6 to 9, from Spring Buds Educational Institute in Srinagar met the Home Minister at his residence here at around 9.15 a.m.

“A group of school children from Srinagar met the Home Minister at his residence. The Home Minister wished them a wonderful and bright future,” a Home Minister official said.

In their over half-an-hour meeting, the students shared their views on different sectors, including education, with the Minister, the official said.

People in Jammu and Kashmir are tired of terrorism as they have realised it cannot give them what they want, Army chief Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday.

In a Facebook Live session at the ongoing Raisina Dialogue organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), he also said that people of Kashmir have come to know that it is not possible to secede from India. “The people of Kashmir in general, I think, are getting tired of terrorism. They have seen it for too long and they have realised that it hasn’t given them what they had desired for,” Gen. Rawat said.

“Let me tell you, with a country like India, to seek independence from a nation where we have strong armed forces, very strong democracy and very strong government... you cannot secede away from India.

“This is what people have realised and while of course some of them have gotten radicalised into joining terrorism and maybe it gives them a macho image or whatever happens, I do feel that most of them want to join the mainstream, but some of them who have got radicalise,d I think we need to address those people and carry out with our deradicalisation campaign. If that works, I think we can succeed in putting an end to terrorism,” he said.

On ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC), he said Pakistan is trying to make an attempt to revive insurgency.

“The LoC is live because of infiltration taking place from across the border. There are terrorist bases very much inside Pakistan, attempt is being made to revive insurgency in Kashmir because people feel there is some semblance of peace that is returning in the Valley and we realise large scale infiltration taking place in coming few months,” he said.

“That is why border is being kept active and alive by the Pakistani troops to support terrorists and support them in infiltration across LoC.” The Army chief said that as long as Pakistan keeps attempting to send terrorists across the border, India will keep taking action.

Asked about his comments on Pakistan’s “nuclear bluff”, he said though it is a weapon of deterrence, it may not completely deter war.

“Nuclear weapons are strategic weapons and their use is not easy. It is decided that the highest level in any establishment. To talk about use of nuclear weapons in the conventional domain, I don’t think it is right form of use.

“If they are a weapon of deterrence, it does not imply it will completely deter countries from going in conflict, specially if political masters in any country decide to push you into combat because of the political aims that they have for themselves...”