186 militants, including 56 Pakistanis, killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 2022

There was a considerable decline in recruitment of locals into militancy in 2022 compared to the previous year while 186 militants, including 56 Pakistani nationals, were killed in various operations by the security forces this year in Jammu and Kashmir.

“100 local youth got recruited into terrorist ranks this year which was 37 per cent less compared to 2021. Out of 100 locals who got recruited this year, 65 were neutralised, 17 arrested and 18 are still active,” said Director General of Police (DGP), Dilbagh Singh while addressing the year-ender presser, in Jammu.

146 Pakistan-created terror modules, comprising four to five members each who were tasked to carry out selective and targeted killings and grenade and IED attacks, were also busted in 2022, Singh said.

In 2017, 126 locals had joined militant ranks while the number was 218 in 2018, 126 in 2019, 167 in 2020 and 128 in 2021.

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On civilian and security forces casualties in 2022, he said compared to previous years, forces faced less casualties this year. “14 policemen and 17 security forces personnel were killed in 2022, which is the lowest ever. Civilian casualties were also less. There were just 24 law and order incidents (all very mild in nature),” Singh added.

A total of 29 civilians, including six non-Muslims were killed during the year. 55 vehicles and 28 houses were seized for being used to support militancy in the union territory in 2022, the J&K police chief said. Similarly, 649 people were booked under public safety act (PSA) for supporting militancy.

He said that 1,693 cases were registered against drug peddlers in 2022 and many modules were busted. “212 kilograms of Heroin, 383 kilograms of cannabis and 12 kilograms of brown sugar were seized this year,” the DGP said.

He said compared to past four years, 2022 was most peaceful on the security front and asserted that the new year resolution of the police is ‘Mission Zero Terror’ and prime focus will be on wiping out the “terror eco-system wherever it exists.”

In Kashmir Valley, out of 172 terrorists neutralised this year, 108 were from LeT and its off-shoot The Resistance Front, followed by 35 from Jaish-e-Mohammed, 22 from Hizbul Mujahideen, four from Al-Badr and three from Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.