In what may be called a major step that shows that the poeple in the valley are with the forces, more than 5366 Kashmiri youths have participated in the army recruitment rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.

The visuals shows Kashmiri youths participating in the army reruitment programme that is being orgaised in Baramulla district. Sources said that the recruitment rally covered all the district, and 5366 youth participated in the programme. Sources also informed that if the participants are successful in the recruitment levels there, they will also have to undergo written test.

Speaking to media, one of the participant said: "Its our ambition, but the major cause is umemployment. This is the reason we want to join army, it has been a dream and the first stage was succesful. The recruitment rally by the Indian army which began on July 10 will continue till July 16 in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir."

Jagdeep Dahiya, DDG at the recruiting Headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir said, "Recruitment drive is being conducted here in Patan, under the aegis of Srinagar.This time we have got an overwhelming response and we are conducting the rally for recruitment in 4 categories - We will divide the participant in groups of 1000 in five days and rank them before the others selection procedures. Selection in Indian army is only on the basis of merit."

Indian Army, Kashmir, Al-Qaeda

Just a day ahead of the recruitment programme, in a new statement, the Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri had called all Kashmiri terror groups to band together to 'single-mindedly focus on inflicting unrelenting blows on the Indian Army and government so as to bleed the Indian economy and make India suffer sustained losses in manpower and equipment'. Displaying several visuals of Indian Army officials allegedly apprehending Kashmiris under terror charges, he adds that we (Al-Qaeda) must empathize with their cause and aide the Kashmiri Muslims. He then goes on to say that the Al-Qaeda must reiterate their stance on Kashmiri aggression stating that an attack on Kashmiri Muslims is an attack on the Muslim community. He also added that Arab Mujahideen wanted to go to Kashmir but were stopped by the Pakistan Army.

"Geographical boundaries and national differences cannot divide us. Allah says that if one part of the body aches, the entire body feels the pain. Hence the Arab Mujahideen wanted to head to Kashmir after expelling the Russians from Afghanistan. But the Pakistan Army - the toadies of America were lying in wait for them," says Zawahiri.

READ: Al-Qaeda's chief Al-Zawahiri terms Pakistan army incapable, calls for terrorist outfits to combine against Indian Army in Kashmir

Pulwama attack and thereafter:

The Ministry of home affairs has said in the Rajya Sabha on July 10 that 93 terrorists have been killed in the valley. In the same session of Rajya Sabha, Syed Nasir Hussain, Congress MP in the question hour had asked if Pulwama terror attack in which 40 jawans were martyred is a result of intelligence failure. Answering to the questions, G Kishan Reddy, the MoS ministry of home affairs categorically said that intelligence failure was not the case.



Elucidating his answer, he said on behalf of the Home ministry:

"Jammu and Kashmir are affected by terrorism sponsored and supported from across the border for the last three decades. However, owing to the policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and sustained action against the terrorists have been neutralised during the past few years. All agencies are working in a coordinated manner and the intelligence inputs are shared among various agencies on a real-time basis. The investigation by NIA into the Pulwama attack so far has resulted in identifying the conspirators, suicide attacker and the vehicle provider."

Earlier, in a big win for India's security forces, one of the main conspirators of the dastardly Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF Jawans were martyred has been neutralised during an encounter in Tral.

Piecing together remnants of the vehicle recovered from the scene of the blast, the NIA investigators, with the support of forensic and automobile experts, identified the vehicle in which the JeM suicide bomber attacked the CRPF convoy, as a Maruti Eeco having chassis number MA3ERLF1SOO183735 and engine number G12BN164140. The vehicle was sold to Mohammed Jaleel Ahmed Haqani, a resident of Heaven Colony in Anantnag in 2011, and subsequently it changed hands seven times and finally reached Sajjad Bhat, a student of Siraj-ul-Uloom, Shopian. The vehicle was purchased by Sajjad Bhat on February 4, as per reports.

Earlier on March 11, one of the main conspirators of the dastardly Pulwama terror attack was neutralised during an encounter in Tral. It was a massive win for the country as Mudasir Khan who was one of the chief perpetrators of the dastardly attack on the CRPF jawans was gunned down by the forces. Twelve days after the heinous attack, the Indian Air Force decimated the largest JeM terror base in Pakistan's Balakot across the LoC with precision air strikes, post which the neighbouring country was forced to initiate a sham 'crackdown' on terrorist groups on its soil.

READ: Security situation in Jammu & Kashmir improved, infiltration down after Balakot strike: Government