The graph of terror in Jammu and Kashmir seems to be decreasing. The 2022 data of local people joining terrorist organizations has given relief. It is reported that there has been a decline of about 60 percent in recruitments this year as compared to 2021. The special thing is that for the last two years, a large number of people joining terrorist organizations had become a cause of concern.
According to the Times of India report, in 2022 till May 8, only 28 local youths joined terror organizations. Whereas, in the whole of 2021, this figure stood at 142. The report quoted CRPF sources as saying that in 2018 terrorist organizations had recruited 187 local youth. However, this figure had come down to 121 in 2019.
The special thing is that in the year 2019 itself, Article 370 was abolished from Jammu and Kashmir. According to the report, the number of recruitments increased to 181 in the year 2020, which came down to 142 in 2021.
CRPF sources say that the number of active terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir is believed to be 163. Of these, 85 are foreign and 78 local recruits. The special thing is that in the last two years, the number of foreign terrorists operating in the area has also come down significantly. Whereas, the share of local terrorists has increased.
According to the report, an official said, “Earlier, foreigners constituted 60-70 per cent of the total terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Things have changed in the last two years and around 60 per cent of the active terrorists are local. Officials attribute the growing militancy component to social media and religious figures encouraging young Kashmiris.
A CRPF official said, “However, what is a good development is that there are no more than 150-160 terrorists now active in Jammu and Kashmir compared to the average 300-350 insiders operating in Jammu and Kashmir in a few years ago.” Officials attribute this to the increasing action of the security forces. This year 71 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir. Of these, 19 were foreigners and 52 were local recruits.