Army hailed for curbing J&K violence

Army hailed for curbing J&K violence M Saleem Pandit TNN  Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday praised the army for controlling Friday’s violence in Kishtwar “within hours” and admitted that the local police and the CRPF were not in a position to bring the situation under control.     “Within hours despite many odds, the army conducted flag march in Kishtwar town and the situation was controlled before nightfall,” the CM said.     Omar said some political parties tried to fuel tensions in other parts of Jammu, prompting the administration to call in the army to assist in restoring order. He said the government would take all measures to foil the designs of vested interests to fan violence. “We have called the army help to keep the situation under control and ensure that no untoward incident takes place...” he said.     Omar also said that no leader of any political party would be allowed to visit Kishtwar or any other troubled areas because this would flare up communal tensions.     The intelligence agencies, however, blamed the state government for “slackness’. “We have been informing the executive authorities about the likelihood of the communal clashes for past several weeks but there was no response to the situation,” said a senior intelligence officer.