data placed before Parliament in
Going by Mufti’s data, 2017 has emerged as the year of highest recruitment of youth in various militant groups in the last seven years. Mufti said 126 youths joined extremist groups in 2017, 38 more than the previous year.According to data placed before Parliament in March last year, there has been a steady increase in the number of youths taking up arms in the Valley from China Cobalt Alloys Wholesalers This dipped to 23 in 2011 and slipped further to 21 in youths joined militancy.
Her version, however, contradicts the statement of J& police chief S P Vaid, who last month downplayed Home Ministry reports that there had been a sharp spike in the number of young Kashmiris joining militant groups in 2017. “As many as 66 youths joined militancy in 2015, 88 in 2016 and 126 in 2017,” the CM said while replying to a written question by National Conference leader Ali Mohammed Sagar. Security officials feel there is a difference between present day militants and those of the early 1990s.
While a majority of the missing boys mainly belong to the average middle class, being described as the new face of terrorism in Kashmir, militants like Owais Ahmed Shah from Kokernag in south Kashmir and Eisa Fazli hailing from Soura in Srinagar show a trend that literate students from well-to-do families are also picking up arms.There is concern that the Valley is witnessing a trend of ‘pan-Islamisation’, where young boys are opting for terrorism knowing full well that they are at the risk of being killed, the officials said.
The ideological conviction of the present lot is stronger than that of the terror groups during the early days, they said.SRINAGAR:Kashmir last year saw a 44 per cent jump in local youths joining militancy from 2016, J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti informed the state assembly on Tuesday. Such data is available from 2010. In 2014, the number shot up to 53 and went up to 66 in 2015 before touching 88 in 2016, according to the data.Ever since security agencies gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016, there has been a marked increase in the number of Kashmiri youths joining terrorist organisations.
