42 pc decline in locals joining terror outfits in J&K since August 5 last year: MHA

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 3

The recruitment of local youths in Jammu & Kashmir by terror outfits has come down by nearly 42 per cent since the special provisions under Article 370 was abrogated and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories, says officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs, quoting figures provided by the intelligence agencies.

The officials said during the one-year period prior to August 5, 2019, around 172 locals joined different terrorist groups but after August 5, 2019, to date, recruitment of such vulnerable reduced by around 42 per cent (from 172 to 100).

The Ministry added that attempts to infiltrate into India along the Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir had also seen a decreasing trend, as against 241 such incidents previous year, there were only 162 during the period between August 5, 2019, and to date.

Sharing a comprehensive analysis of the data gathered from various agencies since the constitutional changes were made last year, the MHA officials said: “It established a fact that separatists, who used to give the call for strikes in Kashmir now and then, are in complete disarray. The trend is the result of the government’s continued crackdown on them and seizing their bank accounts and attaching assets allegedly amassed through terror funds.”

The officials said after the arrest of two main separatist leaders — Yasin Malik of the JKLF for his alleged involvement in a 1990 case of gunning down IAF personnel, and Shahbir Shah of the JKDFP in a 2007 money laundering case — there has been hardly any bandh call during the last one year.

The sale of medical seats in Pakistan by separatist leaders also came to the fore during last year, the officials said, adding that it left the public at large disgruntled.

Further giving the statistics of the declining trend of violence, the officials said there were 532 incidents of stone-pelting in 2018, 389 in 2019 and 102 in 2020. The incidents of stone-pelting were down by 27 per cent in 2019 in comparison to 2018 and 73 per cent in 2020, they added.

“A total of 583 militants were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2018, 849 in 2019 and 444 in 2020,” the Ministry said, adding: “58 Hurriyat leaders were also detained in 2018, 70 in 2019 and six in 2020 while 29 activists of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) were detained in 2019 and eight in 2020.”

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