Srinagar, Dec 29: General Officer Commanding (GOC) Chinar Corps Lt Gen DP Pandey Wednesday said the over ground worker (OGW) network in Jammu and Kashmir has gained from “conflict economy” and is working hard to perpetuate the cycle of violence.
The GOC was speaking on the concluding day of two-day Army Management Studies Board (AMSB) seminar on “The Symbiotic Relationship- Over Ground Workers and Conflict Economy in J&K” which culminated at BB Cantt, Srinagar.
Elaborating his view, Lt Gen Pandey said “there are recent examples where families were not even aware of their wards involvement in terrorism nor were they willing to accept that their family member was involved in any terrorism related activity.”
“This shows the common man does not want to have any connection with the terrorists in any form,” he added.
He said community watch and deliberate actions to “disincentive terrorism and terror support activities is route to enduring peace.” He also brought out the importance of the role of women in breaking the vicious cycle of violence.
Pandey also highlighted that there were subtle signs of positive change in the society after recent candle light marches held in different parts of Kashmir to remember the locals including policemen killed in recent spate of terrorist attacks.
He said, “It only shows that people have understood the futility of violence and are coming together as a society to deal with this menace themselves.”
Societal censure of anyone linked with the cycle of violence is the path to peace, he added.
The GOC Chinar Corps complimented the speakers for their “well-researched talks and candid opinions during the interactive sessions.”
He also complimented the audience for insightful questions and how the youth conveyed intent to organize similar events in different parts of J&K. He also extended New Year greetings to people and wished a peaceful and prosperous 2022 for all Kashmiris.
The second day of the seminar covered two sessions on ‘New age OGW network and combating the OGW network'. The seminar was opened with a special address by Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh.
The DGP elaborated about OGWs, their different identities and highlighted that they are everywhere “but we can't see them, they are young and old with no age/gender barrier from scholars, doctors, teachers, businessmen, lawyers.”
“These modules are being run by handlers sitting across with such networks not knowing each other's identity and activities,” he added.
Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), ex Corps Commander Chinar Corps also enlightened the gathering with his views on ‘combating OGW network' based on his previous experiences.
Other speakers which included Raja Muneeb, Aarti Tikoo, Mehraj Malik, Wajahat Farooq, Anika Mir, Dr Ayjaz Wani, Syed Zeshan, Mehar Rather and Tauseef Raina spoke on “global social media connections, network that runs narrative machinery, interplay between tanzeems, the assassination machinery to perpetuate terror, legal means to deal with OGWs and finally role of women and society in combating OGWs network.”
The deliberations through the course of the seminar brought out the role of women and society in the OGW network. It also highlighted the need to employ multiple agency approach to identify “numerous OGWs to include white collar and hybrid terrorists, and identified the challenges and to arrive at a concrete roadmap to dismantle the OGW network through a well-defined legal framework.”
The two-day seminar was attended by a galaxy of eminent personalities spanning the fields of security, academia, journalists, social activists and scholars on the subject from both within and outside Kashmir.
