JOIN USMore youths joined militancy in Valley since 2014
Over 300 Kashmiri youths took to militancy in the past seven years, with 2016 topping in the number of recruitments, the government said on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir, while addressing the Lok Sabha, also said that the participation of youngsters in the violence has “ceased” this year.
While the number of youth joining militancy was on the decline from 2010 to 2013, it picked up from 2014. Eighty-eight youths took to militancy last year, mostly after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen operative Burhan Wani on July 8.
In 2010, the number of youth recruited was 54 and it decreased to 23 the next year. It further declined to 21 in 2012 and to 16 in 2013. In 2014, the number rose sharply to 53 and in 2015 it reached 66.
The infiltration attempts showed a steady decline from 2010 to 2015. Last year there was a rise in the figure, but it did not surpass the 2010 number.
In 2010, there were 489 attempts and in 2016 there were 371. While a large number of infiltration attempts were thwarted, the number of infiltrations rose from 95 in 2010 to 119 in 2016.
Ahir informed the Lok Sabha that the Jammu and Kashmir Police has taken a number of initiatives to engage the youth of the state — including sports tournaments and cultural events — to woo youngsters away from militancy.
From the 820 “law and order situations” recorded in July last year — the month in which Wani was killed — the number has come down to 49 in February and 27 this month.
“Barring some violence-prone pockets, the situation is presently normal. Efforts are afoot to bring the situation under control in these vulnerable pockets,” the minister said.
DH News Service
While a large number of infiltration attempts were thwarted, the number of infiltrations rose from 95 in 2010 to 119 in 2016