Stone pelting, strike calls on decline in Kashmir

With multi-disciplinary terror monitoring group (TMG) taking sustained action against terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir, the signs of normalcy in the state are visible with stone-pelting incidents and strike calls showing a huge decline.

The TMG was constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on May 30 to ensure synergised and concerted action against terror financing and other terror-related activities in the militancy-hit state. The body has been tasked to identify key leaders of separatist and other organisations involved in supporting terrorism in any form and take concerted action against them.

The TMG is represented by additional DGP, CID, in J&K police, who is its chairman, IGP in J&K police, additional director of Intelligence Bureau in J&K and representatives of Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) , National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

Sources said the TMG in its recent meeting decided to widen its ambit and start finding some missing links to ensure all sources of funding is blocked to the militants and separatists. “A joint strategy is already in place and has been fine tuned. The TMG is meeting once in every week and submits the progress report to the Home Ministry on weekly basis,” they said.

As the law enforcing agencies started tightening noose, the separatists didn’t call for any hartal (strike) in June. Even when Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on a two-day visit to the state on June 26 and 27, the separatist groups refrained from giving calls for a shutdown. Over the last three decades, separatist groups in Kashmir have called for strike on hundreds of days.

Even the statements coming from separatist groups and militant organisations have seen a considerable dip in the recent months. In the last three decades, local newspapers used to carry the ant-India statements from separatists and militants almost on daily basis.

Similarly, the stone pelting incidents have declined sharply since the start of this year. “The youth rushing towards encounter sites to help the holed militants to flee has gone down drastically. Those who were mobilising the mobs are either behind the bars or are on run. Also, this has been possible as most of the terror funding channels have been blocked by the law enforcing agencies in the recent months,” a senior police officer, privy to the developments told DH.

He said not only separatists, but some white-collar elements in Kashmir, who were supporting militancy have been questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi. “A proper monitoring of accounts of suspected organisations has been started and several people, including some media persons, have been questioned by the NIA in Delhi,” the officer revealed.