In 2020, militancy-related incidents decreased by 63.93% in J&K: MHA

The MHA report termed the recently concluded DDC elections in the union territory as landmark decisions

Militancy incidents in Jammu and Kashmir have decreased by 63.93 per cent compared to 2019, according to data from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

“There was also a decrease in fatalities of special forces personnel by 29.11 per cent and a decrease in casualties of civilians by 14.28 per cent in 2020 (up to 15 November) as compared to the corresponding period a year earlier,” the annual review report of the MHA revealed.

The MHA report termed the recently concluded District Development Council (DDC) elections in the union territory as landmark decisions.

There has also been a drastic decrease in stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir with an 87.13 per cent dip recorded in 2020 compared to 2019. In 2015, about 730 incidents of stone-pelting were reported while the following year after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, over 2,650 cases were recorded.

In 2017, though the number of stone-pelting incidents fell to 1,412, 2018 saw a marginal rise in cases to 1,458. In 2019, nearly 2,000 incidents of stone-pelting were reported, of which 1,193 took place after the Centre announced the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir that year in August.

In 103 anti-militancy operations last year, security forces also killed 225 militants across Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019, 152 militants were killed by the security forces in J&K while a year before that, 215 ultras were neutralized.