'Hybrid' militants: The new challenge for security forces in Kashmir

The new trend has sent security agencies into a tizzy as these 'hybrid' militants, or 'part-time' militants are very difficult to track

With infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) almost drying up, security agencies in Kashmir are facing a new challenge in the form of outsourcing of militant activities.

Police source revealed to DH that dozens of youth, who are not listed as militants, but radicalised and trained enough to carry out terror attacks, have been engaged by Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfits in the last few months.

“Most of them are teenagers and highly motivated. They do not cross the border for arms training nor do they go underground to commit violent acts. In a majority of cases, their motivation is pure indoctrination or the macho image associated with violence. In some cases, money is also a factor as several of those arrested are from poor families,” they said.

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The new trend has sent security agencies into a tizzy as these “hybrid” or “part-time” militants are very difficult to track, as they slip back into routine life after carrying out an attack, thus, posing a huge challenge to the security forces.

“Due to relentless operations by security agencies, only a few active militants operate in towns and Srinagar city. Now on the directions of the Pakistan spy agency, ISI, militant handlers are engaging these young boys, who carry out their routine activities during the day time. Their handlers (militant commanders) assign them specific tasks and after its completion they again slip back to normal work,” a senior police officer involved in counter insurgency operations, said.

He said these “hybrid” militants mostly target those who speak against separatism and against the perpetrators and instigators of violence. “They have been mostly given pistols and their targets are political activists without security and off-duty policemen. The reason that security forces have failed to neutralise them is that they have no police record,” the officer said.

Kashmir police chief Vijay Kumar while acknowledging the presence of sleeper cells and “hybrid” militants in Srinagar city said that they will neutralise them soon.

“There are some sleeper cells that we call part-time or hybrid terrorists. We are tracking full-time terrorists but there is difficulty in tracking the part-time or hybrid terrorists as they go back to their normal work after carrying out an operation. But we are keeping full surveillance and we will get them soon,” he asserted.

While security and intelligence agencies put the number of active militants across Jammu and Kashmir to 200, sources said, they are mostly concentrated in mountainous areas like Bandipora and Lolab in the north and upper reaches of Pulwama and Shopian in the south.