At least 20 more terror camps have come up across the Line of Control (LoC) after the September 2016 surgical strike, taking the total to around 55 such facilities, officials said on Tuesday.
There were around 35 terror camps across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir when the Indian Army launched a surgical strike to target such facilities which were also used as launch pads for terrorists waiting to infiltrate into India.
Officials quoted intelligence reports to suggest that 20 new camps have come up on the other side of LoC in the past four months. The earlier ones have also resumed functioning actively.
The remarks came a day after the Pakistan Army killed and beheaded two Indian soldiers in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district.
The intelligence agencies have also told top security officials that around 160 militants are active in Kashmir valley.
In March, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed Parliament that over 300 Kashmiri youths have joined militancy in the past seven years with 2016 topping in such recruitment. However, the participation of the youth in violence has ceased this year.
While the number of youth joining militancy was on the decrease from 2010 to 2013, the numbers have gone up since 2014.
Eighty-eight youths joined the militants last year, mainly after Hizbul Mujahideen operative Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8, 2016.
In 2010, the number of youths who were recruited was 54 and it decreased to 23 the next year. It further declined to 21 and 16 in 2012 and 2013 respectively. However, 2014 witnessed a sharp increase to 53 while the next year saw 66 youths joining militancy.
It also said the infiltration attempts showed a decline from 2010 to 2015 but last year saw a rise though the figure did not surpass the 2010 number.
DH News Service
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