Local militancy sees a surge; April had most since Wani encounter

NEW DELHI: On Friday May 11, Ashiq Hussain Ganie, an undergraduate student from Pulwama in Kashmir, announced his entry into a militant organisation by posing with an AK 47 and a pistol on social media. Ganie, police say, is the 43rd local to have joined a terror group this year.

Local government and security forces officials are worried by the fact that 28 of them joined in April — the highest in a month since resurgence of local militancy after the rise of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The numbers have gone up since Wani was killed in an encounter in July 2016.

The new recruits included a Phd Aligarh Muslim University scholar, an MBA (son of a senior separatist leader), a former army jawan, an assistant professor (who died a day after he joined militant ranks) and undergraduate students.

Confirming the numbers, director general of police SP Vaid said while the number till Friday morning, according to the police was 42, some other intelligence agencies put it at 45. Vaid, however, confirmed there has been a rise in the numbers last month.

Underplaying the numbers, Vaid claimed the trend is the same as last year. “Last year (overall) the number was 127, which was highest in years, so in first few months 45 is not that high, but it is certainly a concern,’’ he added. The DGP, however, did not explain the sudden spike last month.

“There is a cycle of violence happening here. Killings lead to more recruitments, more recruitments mean more killings, so the vicious cycle goes on,’’ said a sen- ior journalist, Sheikh Mushtaq.

Intelligence officials said the number has gone up since April 1 when 17 young people, 13 of them militants and four civilians, were killed in action by security forces.

Ganie is a resident of Panjran, in Pulwama, which, along with Kulgam and Shopian, accounts for most of the young people joining terror groups. The three districts were the worst hit in 2016’s summer unrest in which more than 100 civilians lost their lives.

Ganie announced that he had joined Pakistan-based Jaish-eMohammad; most locals join the locally-bred Hizbul Mujahideen.

With the new recruitments, the number of active militants has gone up to 250, according to the DGP. “Out of the 250 militants, around 150 are locals and 100 are non-locals (Pakistani),’’ said Vaid. The police chief said at least 60 militants have been killed till date. “Last year 42 militants were killed in the same period,’’ he added.

At least 20 security personnel and 25 civilians have also been killed so far this year.

Vaid said there is also reason to cheer because 16 young people had left terror groups and returned to the mainstream in the last five to six months.

Social scientist Noor Mohammad Baba said the government’s failure to address the anger and alienation in the valley was giving rise to a sense of `hopelessness’’.

Vaid blames the “glamourisation of militancy “. “A section of media is romanticising the militancy so much that more and more young are joining. I think families, civil societies also have a role to play in this,” he added.

He also called for a rehabilitation policy for locals who shun violence.