Will extend J&K ceasefire if things move smoothly: Army chief

Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday said that the Army was ready to extended unilateral ceasefire in Jammu & Kashmir “if things move smoothly.” The Army chief arrived in Srinagar on Thursday and was speaking to the media at the Army Goodwill School in Pahalgam, 100 km away from capital Srinagar.

“ and if things move smoothly we can extend it. But if militants attack the security forces during this period of time, then we may have to think seriously again about ceasefire,” Gen. Rawat was quoted as saying by a Srinagar-based news agency GNS .

The Army took a unilateral decision to halt operations on May 16 and stopped cordon and search operations, especially in the militancy hub of south Kashmir.

‘Major Gogoi will be punished if found guilty’

On theand a woman, the Army chief said, "If Major Gogoi was involved in any unlawful activities he will be given exemplary punishment."

On May 23, Major Gogoi was briefly detained by police in Srinagar after an altercation when he was allegedly trying to enter a hotel with an 18-year-old woman, according to a police official. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has initiated an inquiry into the incident involving Major Gogoi, whose decision to tie a civilian to the bonnet of his vehicle in Kashmir last year sparked a row.