New Delhi: The number of local Kashmiri youths recruited by terror groups in the Valley in the first five months this year alone has more than doubled as compared to the whole of 2016, intelligence agencies cautioned the Union home ministry on Friday.
This comes a day after Union home minister Rajnath Singh said that infiltration of militants from Pakistan has dropped following the Army’s surgical strikes against terror launchpads in PoK in September last year. According to a report by intelligence agencies, the security establishment has expressed concern over terror recruitments.
While 128 locals joined militancy last year, “the figure could be between 260 and 300 till May this year alone”.
Another important issue flagged by intelligence agencies and described as “alarming” was that the recruitment drive was not just limited to south Kashmir but extended to north as well as central Kashmir.
One of the main reasons, sources said, for the sharp increase in locals joining ranks of militant groups in the Valley was the sustained and aggressive campaign, even through social media, carried out by terror modules particularly after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in July last year.
Intelligence agencies have also alerted that terror outfits were facing a severe shortage of arms and ammunition as security agencies have been successful in checking smuggling of weapons from across the border.
This, the report adds, could lead to an increase in incidents of militants snatching weapons from security forces in the days ahead and that most local Kashmir youths recruited recently would be used for this purpose.
One of the reasons for local youths getting lured by Hizbul is that it is largely a local group with most of its cadre from the Valley alone.
