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Declining local recruitment fails to eliminate the terror threat. (Img: IANS)
New Delhi: Kashmir has just one active local terrorist, the lowest since 1989, yet Wednesday's attack by motorcycle-borne assailants on a CRPF deployment, which injured three personnel, underscores the continuing threat from Pakistan-linked terror networks.
On Thursday, even more shocking is that two Special police personnel, who went missing during patrol duty in Kishtwar, were found dead with bullet injuries.
Recent Attacks Expose Continuing Pakistan-Linked Threat in Kashmir. (Img: IANS)
Both incidents highlighted the gap between the sharp decline in local recruitment and the ability of terror networks to carry out targeted strikes. Sujit Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, recently said only one local terrorist remained active in the valley.
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According to figures provided by the Home Ministry in Parliament, around 6,800 militants were active in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996. Their number declined to 240 in 2013 and 199 in January 2014. Further, local recruitment fell from 146 in 2021 to 121 in 2022, 19 in 2023, four in 2024 and just one in 2025, according to figures cited by security agencies.
No doubt these changes are the outcome of sustained counter-terrorism operations, improved intelligence gathering, technological surveillance and action against militant support networks, according to sources.
However, the reduction in local militants does not mean the disappearance of the terror threat. In other words, foreign operatives and their support networks remain a concern for security agencies.
Investigators are examining the attackers' identities and possible foreign terrorist links, including whether they received local logistical assistance in the latest attacks. No outfit had claimed responsibility for the attack.
