New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Violence Level may have decreased by 35% in the last year, but the Ministry of Home Affairs is not taking any relief from these figures and in the Valley. There have been concerns over the increasing cases of homegrown terrorism. According to Home Ministry data, there have been a total of 120 incidents of violence till July 15 this year as compared to 188 incidents last year. But what is causing serious concern is that the number of local terrorists being killed in the valley has increased, it is clear that the recruitment of local people into terrorists is increasing in the valley.
According to MHA data, out of 136 terrorists killed by the middle of July this year, only 15 were foreigners and nine are yet to be identified. The rest of them were local. Last year, 126 terrorists were killed in this time period.
What does the Jammu and Kashmir Police say?
However, the Jammu and Kashmir Police denies that the local recruitment in the Valley has increased. Vijay Kumar IGP (Kashmir) said, ‘So far in 2019, 79 youths have been found involved in various terrorist incidents, while in 2019, 135 such people joined terrorist organizations.’ According to him, out of 79 local teenagers joining militant groups, 38 have been killed and 12 have been arrested. He said, “So far 29 local terrorists, who have been admitted this year, are working in the valley.”
Avinash Mohanane, former joint director of the Intelligence Bureau, said, “Statistics alone cannot tell the ground reality. The local terrorists who are being killed are not trained, nor do they have much terrorist equipment. ‘
These incidents in Srinagar increased concern
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have named three hard-core Hizbul Mujahideen operatives – Zakir Musa, Riyaz Naiku and Burhan Koka – all local but ferocious terrorists responsible for the many heinous acts that killed them in encounters in South Kashmir . Another reason for ringing alarm bells in the Home Ministry is the encounter in the plains in Srinagar.
A senior MHA official said, “Earlier such encounters took place in hilly areas, but now there is presence of local terrorists in the plains as well and this is a cause for concern.” According to him, armed militants are now visiting Srinagar continuously. He told, ‘Two days ago, Lashkar terrorists – Ishfaq Rashid and Aijaz Bhat – were killed in Srinagar. This is a dangerous trend, ‘he said, adding that in May, Junaid Serai, a top Hizbul militant, was also killed in Nawakdal in Srinagar.
DGP Dilbag Singh told NDTV, ‘Most of the operations in the valley were clean operations and no collateral damage was reported. We have also stopped the funeral procession and the gun salute.
The factsheet of the Ministry of Home Affairs has also told that an important achievement has been that this year a decline in terrorist violence has been observed. According to data up to mid-July, there have been only 21 terrorist incidents this year, while in 2019, 51 such incidents were reported last year. Even IED attacks have decreased. A senior bureaucrat said that ‘only one such incident has happened so far this year, while 6 cases of IED were reported last year’.
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