Militant recruitment up in Kashmir since last month: Indian Army

The Indian Army on Saturday said that recruitment of militants has gone up in Kashmir since last one month.

“In the last six months it (militant recruitment) had come down but now it has again seen a rise,” General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lt General B S Raju told reporters during a presser in Srinagar.

He said that the recruitment of militants is little more in south Kashmir districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag than in northern districts.

Also read: Army foils Pakistan's attempt to push arms into Kashmir, recovers four rifles

However, the GOC said, the infiltration of militants along the Line of Control (LoC) has come down compared to last year. “This year, we have stopped infiltration to a large extent. Last year till October, 126 militants had managed to enter this side. This year, the figure for the same period is just 30,” the GOC revealed.

General Raju credited the decline in the infiltration to effective counter infiltration measures by the Army. “This morning, the Army foiled a weapons smuggling bid into Kashmir across the Kishenganga river and recovered four AK rifles. The cache was recovered because of the surveillance devices,” he said.

The GOC said that the militants were being neutralised in the operations in the hinterland and also on the LoC. “This morning, we neutralised two militants including one foreigner,’’ he said.

He said economic activity has also started in Kashmir and apple and paddy cultivation has also begun.

On the Shopian 'fake' encounter , General Raju said that the Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been completed and on the basis of the inquiry, it was found that some wrongdoing has been committed. “We have ordered a summary of evidence and have covered some distance. Hopefully, we will reach the next stage soon,” he said.

While commenting on Pakistan-China coordination, the GOC said, "There is a presence of China in Pakistan due to CPEC and they have coordination in terms of equipment but on tactical military grounds, we can see no coordination between them.”