Srinagar: Inspector General of Police Kashmir range Vijay Kumar said that militancy has not been wiped out from South Kashmir yet but all the major militant outfits have received a major detent as most of their cadre have been killed. He, however, said in Tral area of Pulwama district there was no Hizb militant and that 29 foreign militants were active in higher reaches of southern districts of the Valley.
As per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a wreath laying ceremony of a CRPF man who was killed in yesterday’s militant attack at Bijbehara, IGP said that militancy has not been wiped from South Kashmir yet but all the major outfits have sustained a huge dent as most of their cadre has been killed.
“There are 29 foreign militants active in South Kashmir, who are hiding in upper reaches of southern districts and are not coming down. When our sources would give accurate information about them, we will go after them,” Kumar said, adding that militancy is gradually being wiped out from South Kashmir districts.
“There have been massive jolts to the various militant outfits in South Kashmir this year. The remaining militants will be killed soon. However, the Tral area, that has been the hot bed of militancy, has for the first time since 1989, no active Hizb militant,” the IGP said.
Interestingly, Director General of Police (J&K) Dilbagh Singh recently said that Hizb has lost over 50 militants this year while Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have lost 20 each including top commanders.
To a query whether security forces have shifted their focus to north Kashmir, the IGP said that the number of militants in north Kashmir is less as compared to south. “We have already started anti-militancy operations in north Kashmir also. Recently, we killed two local militants in Sopore area of Baramulla,” he said as per KNO.
The IGP further stated that, “Both, human as well as technical intelligence is helping us to develop credible leads about the presence of militants. We develop leads and act against militants and later on identify the militant outfits they belong to.”
About the yesterday’s attack at Bijbheara in which a CRPF man and a five-year-old boy were killed, he said eye-witnesses and police sources have identified the militant involved in the firing. “The militant’s name is Zahid Das and he is affiliated with the J&K Islamic State outfit. He came on a bike and fired indiscriminately in which a CRPF man and minor boy got killed,” the IGP said. “A massive manhunt has been launched to nab Zahid.”
