<p>With local recruitment into militancy coming down gradually in Kashmir, foreign militants are compelled to come out of their hideouts, the army said on Monday.</p>.<p>Outgoing General-officer-Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based army’s 15 Corps, Lieutenant General D P Pandey said till not long ago the foreign terrorists were putting local ultras at the forefront to carry out attacks on security forces.</p>.<p>“As the number of local terrorists has gone down significantly down, the foreigners are now compelled to come out of their hideouts and that’s why they are getting exposed and we are able to establish contacts with them of late,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function at the 15 Corps headquarters, here.</p>.<p>In April, the army had said that out of 156 militants active in Kashmir, 79 were locals while 77 were foreigners, predominantly Pakistanis. The Army maintains that from January to March 2022 only 15 locals joined the militancy.</p>.<p>Sources said Pakistani spy agency ISI is now placing its reliance on further operations in Kashmir predominantly on foreign militants. “The ISI’s USP (unique selling point) is that Islam was in danger in India, in general, and in Kashmir, in particular. The mercenaries from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir are hired, trained and inducted into the Kashmir Valley,” they said.</p>.<p>However, the GoC said that this year so far only one infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) was made by the militants which were foiled by the alert troops. “Though some mild attempts were made no major infiltration was reported from across along the LoC this year,” he said.</p>.<p>To a question about how valid Aadhaar cards were found from two slain foreigner militants killed in Srinagar last month, General Panday said it was a challenge for the security agencies. “If a person (foreign militant) comes out during a live encounter having a valid Aadhaar card, it is difficult to challenge him. Gradually, we will overcome this challenge,” he said.</p>.<p>On reports that the militants were using satellite phones and night vision devices left out by US forces in Afghanistan, the GoC said, “It is true that some devices being used in other parts of the world are used by terrorists in Kashmir and have been recovered in recent past.”</p>.<p>“It is not a big challenge and we have been able to overcome it effectively,” he asserted.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>With local recruitment into militancy coming down gradually in Kashmir, foreign militants are compelled to come out of their hideouts, the army said on Monday.</p>.<p>Outgoing General-officer-Commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based army’s 15 Corps, Lieutenant General D P Pandey said till not long ago the foreign terrorists were putting local ultras at the forefront to carry out attacks on security forces.</p>.<p>“As the number of local terrorists has gone down significantly down, the foreigners are now compelled to come out of their hideouts and that’s why they are getting exposed and we are able to establish contacts with them of late,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function at the 15 Corps headquarters, here.</p>.<p>In April, the army had said that out of 156 militants active in Kashmir, 79 were locals while 77 were foreigners, predominantly Pakistanis. The Army maintains that from January to March 2022 only 15 locals joined the militancy.</p>.<p>Sources said Pakistani spy agency ISI is now placing its reliance on further operations in Kashmir predominantly on foreign militants. “The ISI’s USP (unique selling point) is that Islam was in danger in India, in general, and in Kashmir, in particular. The mercenaries from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir are hired, trained and inducted into the Kashmir Valley,” they said.</p>.<p>However, the GoC said that this year so far only one infiltration attempt along the Line of Control (LoC) was made by the militants which were foiled by the alert troops. “Though some mild attempts were made no major infiltration was reported from across along the LoC this year,” he said.</p>.<p>To a question about how valid Aadhaar cards were found from two slain foreigner militants killed in Srinagar last month, General Panday said it was a challenge for the security agencies. “If a person (foreign militant) comes out during a live encounter having a valid Aadhaar card, it is difficult to challenge him. Gradually, we will overcome this challenge,” he said.</p>.<p>On reports that the militants were using satellite phones and night vision devices left out by US forces in Afghanistan, the GoC said, “It is true that some devices being used in other parts of the world are used by terrorists in Kashmir and have been recovered in recent past.”</p>.<p>“It is not a big challenge and we have been able to overcome it effectively,” he asserted.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
