Around 50 Jammu and Kashmir youths joined militancy in first six months of 2017, reveals home ministry

New Delhi: As many as 50 youths in Jammu and Kashmir have joined militant ranks, mostly of Hizbul Mujahideen, so far this year, a home ministry official said.

“Fifty youths in Jammu and Kashmir have joined militant ranks in the first six months of 2017. Most of them have joined Hizbul Mujahideen and belong to south Kashmir,” the official said.

More than 50 percent of around 220 active terrorists in Kashmir are Pakistani nationals, another home ministry official said.

According to the home ministry’s statistics, 88 Kashmiri youths joined militancy in 2016, the highest in the last six years.

In 2010, 54 Kashmiri youths joined militant ranks. The number came down to 23 in 2011. It further dipped to 21 in 2012 and to 16 in 2013.

The ministry’s statistics revealed that 115 terrorists have attempted to enter Jammu and Kashmir from across the border so far this year; 19 of them managed to sneak into the Indian territory.

The data showed that 370 infiltration attempts were made in the state in 2016 in which 119 terrorists entered the country.

In 2015, 121 terrorists attempted to enter the country but only 33 could do so. In 2014, 222 terrorists tried to cross over into the country, but only 65 could do it.