J&K youth joining terror groups a major concern

The recent trend of militancy in the Kashmir Valley is causing considerable concern among the security establishment as not only has there been a sudden surge in successful infiltration from across the border, but local educated youth in the Valley are beginning to joining the terror outfits after a long spell. According to intelligence sources, as many as 50 militants are believed to have already crossed over from Pakis-tan till May this year against 33 in the whole of 2015, and 65 in 2014.

In addition, what is worrying the security agencies is that at least 15 local youth from in and around Srinagar are suspected to have joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. The recent spurt in attack on security forces in which seven security personnel were killed is being attributed to the fresh inflow of militants from across the border.

On its part, the home ministry has directed security forces and the state government to carry out a major de-radicalisation drive to ensure that local youth is not motivated into joining terror organisations. “It is almost after nearly a decade that we are seeing the locals once again joining terror outfits. There are also reports that a number of them are working as sleeper cells for such organisations and we need to check this trend as local support both in terms of logistics and information regarding vital security installations can prove to be extremely dangerous,’’ a senior intelligence official said.

According to intelligence sources, as many as 220 militants are operating in the Valley at present and they are in desperate need for more men as during peak militancy the figure used to be around 1,000. But due to sustained efforts of security forces, the number has reduced drastically and thus more infiltration attempts are being made from across the border.

A.S. Dulat, former chief of RAW and an expert on Kashmir, feels that the sudden increase in infiltration is an indication that militant groups are getting desperate for more assistance. The local youth joining terror outfits goes on to prove that Pakistan-based terror organisations which operate in the Valley must have unleashed a major propaganda campaign.

The groups also realise that to sustain in the long run, they need local support and cannot depend entirely on support from across the border,” Mr Dulat added.

As many as 97 militants had managed to infiltrate in 2013, while the figure was less in the subsequent two years due to which the number of active militants in the Valley dropped.

Home ministry officials said the Centre is closely monitoring the issue of both infiltration and local youth joining for which an action plan has already been prepared. Apart from the de-radicalisation drive, multiple security forces have rushed reinforcements to create a multi-tier system along the 400 km long Line of Control. Intelligence inputs suggest that nearly 350 militants are waiting at the launch pads close to the LoC to enter the Valley.