Hizbul Mujahideen militant's brother raises tricolor in Sopore town of Jammu and Kashmir

File photo for representation. PTI

The brother of an active Hizbul Mujahideen militant raised the Indian national flag, tricolor, at his house in Sopore town of Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.

Rayees Ahmad, the brother of Javed Ahmad who joined the militant ranks in 2009, waved the national tricolour from the first-floor veranda of his house.

"I waved the tricolour on my own will. There was no pressure on me from anyone. This is the flag of my country which gives us everything. My brother made a mistake. I want to tell him, if he is alive, to return under our national flag," Rayees said.

Sopore town in north Kashmir was a stronghold of militants and separatists for more than three decades before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Several top separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Bhat and Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, belonged to this area.

Meanwhile, the BSF Monday said it has stepped up vigilance as the inimical forces have evil designs to create a disturbance on the eve of Independence Day.

Our fellow citizens can celebrate Independence Day without any worry as we are here to guard the borders". This is the message from a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan posted along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

Constable Sanjeev Kumar Rai said the BSF troopers guarding the Line of Control have to step up vigilance as the inimical forces have evil designs to create a disturbance on the eve of Independence Day.

"While the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, our enemy also plans on how to create disturbances here. To tackle their designs, we get orders from the high command for upping the vigil along the Line of Control and border by way of patrolling and area domination exercises. We try our best to live up to the expectations," Rai said.

He said the jawans posted along the LoC have to exhibit a level of alertness higher than the usual borders due to tough terrain.

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"We have to increase the alertness because this is an area of dense vegetation where one cannot be sure of the identity of a person even at a short distance of 50 metres. We have to stay alert to any suspicious movement of terrorists while also ensuring our own safety. The dangers at the LoC are anyways more compared to normal borders," he added.

Magan, the deputy commandant of the unit, said the drill to secure the LoC was "nothing new for my boys" but the guard has to be kept up in view of the Independence Day celebrations.

"This is not new for us. This is our routine practice but the alertness increases as the terrorists want to instill fear among the people ahead of Independence Day. To foil the evil designs of the terrorists, we step up patrolling and intensify firing practice. While the operation has begun recently, the preparations for this operation began several months ago," he said. (Agencies)