Srinagar: The northern army commander, Lieutenant General Upendera Dwivedi, on Tuesday said that the total number of militants active in Jammu and Kashmir is over 300 that include 82 foreign militants and 53 locals while 170 are listed as unidentified by the army.
Addressing a press conference in Poonch on the occasion of Poonch Link-up Day on Tuesday, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief northern command Lieutenant General Upendera Dwivedi said that figures available with the army suggest that there are 300 terrorists active in J&K, including the Rajouri-Poonch area.
“There are 82 foreign and 53 local terrorists active in J&K. Worrisome is that there are almost 170 unidentified terrorists listed with the army tasked to conduct criminal activities.", said the General.
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About the local militant recruitment, Lt Gen Dwivedi said 35 per cent of the recruitment comprised youth below 20 years of age and the remaining 75 per cent include youth between the age of 20 and 30 years. “It is time for parents to keep a watch on their children and ensure proper upbringing. These youth need to study and see the world outside. We have sent 1,800 youth to various parts of India for studies,” he said.
On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh claimed that the number of local militants active in Kashmir had been reduced to two-digit, while a “minuscule number of foreigners" were active, who is being tracked down.
He said, as far as the status of militancy is concerned, the number of active local militants has reduced to just two digits. Very few foreign militants are active as of now. At one point in time, north Kashmir was badly affected by the militancy and at present “this place is almost peaceful and there is less influence of militancy now," he said.
Anti-militancy operations are going on and very soon remaining militants will be eliminated also, he added.
