There has been a marginal reduction in the civilian and security forces (SF) fatality index during the first eight months of year 2003 as compared to the same period in 2002 in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). While 457 civilians were killed in the first eight months of 2003, 569 civilians lost their lives during the corresponding period in 2002. Similarly, 233 SF personnel were killed in the State during the first eight months of 2003, while the same period in 2002 saw 248 killed. There have been four major terrorist attacks during this period in 2003.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee launched a peace initiative on April 18, 2003, stating, during his public meeting at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar: "We again extend the hand of friendship. But it has to be both ways. Both sides should commit that they will live in peace and harmony."
The intensity of terrorist violence in J&K was sustained through the year 2002 and the Pakistan-backed terrorist agenda witnessed a remarkable continuity without any significant dilution in the post 9/11 phase. A succession of high-intensity terrorist acts throughout the year, as well as the fatality index, confirm that there was no significant indications that the Musharraf regime in Pakistan was committed to fulfilling its promises of terminating cross-border terrorism. Approximately 839 civilians and 469 security force (SF) personnel were killed during the year under review and some 1,714 terrorists were killed by the SFs in counter-terrorism operations.
Terrorist violence in 2002 also included efforts to provoke communal tensions with three major attacks on the Hindu minority community in the State:
Other major incidents and massacres in year 2002 included:
Furthermore, the 15-member United Jehad Council (UJC), which co-ordinates the terrorist campaign in J&K, continued to function freely from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Legislative Assembly Elections
The most notable success in the efforts to restore civil governance in J&K was the successful conduct of the Legislative Assembly elections despite large-scale terrorist violence perpetrated by Islamist terrorist groups. The democratic exercise was acknowledged, both in India and by the international community at large, as being fair, free and transparent. These elections were held in four phases during September-October 2002. The whole electoral process, from the date of notification on August 22 till the fourth phase on October 8, was marred by high levels of violence and intimidation by the Pakistan-based terrorist formations, which organized a series of attacks against political parties contesting the elections, security forces and the electorate. In the build-up to the elections, killings of political activists reached an all-time high, with 34 political leaders and workers killed in the four weeks following the announcement of elections on August 22. Many of the victims were middle-level functionaries of the then ruling National Conference. Functionaries and supporters of other parties were also targeted. Representatives of village-level local bodies were also killed. There was an organised attempt to intimidate civil society ahead of the elections, and 168 civilians succumbed to terrorist attacks between the beginning of August and September 22, while another 179 were injured. Even leaders from the secessionist front, the APHC, fell victim to terrorist violence, as was dramatically witnessed in the assassination of the Hurriyat’s Abdul Gani Lone on May 21. Lone's 'crimes' included a willingness to engage in a dialogue with the Indian government, opposition to the presence of Pakistanis among terrorist groups active in J&K, and an articulation of his belief that there was no military solution to the 'Kashmir problem'. His assassination was also directed towards neutralizing the moderate voice in the State’s political discourse.
There were also a high degree of intimidation through statements and posters. During the electoral process, the Pakistan-based Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), in its strategy of subverting the democratic process in the State, said that the "elimination of activists of the ruling National Conference party was the initial phase of this programme." Similarly, the Islamic Front, while pointing out that separatist leaders were forbidden from participating in the elections, threatened, "We will never forgive those who will take part in Indian polls." Earlier, Pakistan, on August 10, 2002, had said that elections in Jammu and Kashmir were a charade that would not give people the choice they wanted. "Regardless of the drama they (the Indians) would like to enact, that is no substitute for giving them (Kashmiris) a choice of joining Pakistan or India," said Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi, the Pakistani military regime’s spokesperson.
The secessionist conglomerate APHC had earlier indicated, on April 4, 2002, that it would not contest the Assembly elections, and said that ballots could not solve the ‘Kashmir issue’. Elections, said Abdul Gani Bhat, APHC chairman, "are not the answer to our questions put to the international community about fulfilling our promises made at different international fora. We have not reviewed or reversed our 1996 decision not to participate in elections." The Hurriyat had, earlier in January 2002, floated an idea that it would form its own Election Commission to conduct polls in J&K for electing ‘true representatives’ of the people, who could then hold talks for resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully. According to the plan – a non-starter in the end - the election process was to be completed in three phases: In the first phase, elections were to be held in Kashmir, the second phase to cover Jammu and Ladakh and the final phase in PoK. The Hurriyat even announced a six-member "Jammu and Kashmir People’s Election Commission" on February 12. Two co-chairmen - Tapan Kumar Bose, human rights and peace activist from India and Justice Sajad Ali Shah, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed it. Other members of the commission included Ved Bhasin, a veteran journalist from Jammu, Zafar Mehdi from Srinagar, Siddiq Wahid from Ladakh and Justice Raja Khursheed from PoK.
However, despite sustained terrorist violence accompanied by the intimidation of electorate, the democratic exercise was successfully carried out. The State recorded an average turnout of 42 per cent in the four-phased elections. Furthermore, such a voter turnout was registered despite the boycott by secessionist formations in the State.
Voter turnout in the first round held in the worst hit districts of north Kashmir and western Jammu, exceeded the projected expectations. There was also a varied pattern of voter turnout during this phase. In areas like Kupwara and Handwara, voter turnout was considerably higher than in 1996. Moreover, this occurred despite the assassination of State Law Minister, Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, in the adjoining Lolab valley on September 11. However, Sopore, with a considerable presence of the Islamist right Jamaat-e-Islami, registered an extremely low voter turnout.
Terrorist violence did, however, succeed in reducing turnout sharply in some areas, like the Rajouri and Poonch districts. In an encounter with the security forces at Surankote in Poonch, five Lashkar-e-Toiba cadres were killed even as voting was underway. Terrorist groups cordoned off several remote villages of the region, while 107-milimetre rockets were fired at the Thanamandi and Surankote areas. Poonch and Rajouri also witnessed many incidents of pre-election terrorist violence. In the week before polling, a prominent NC leader, Qazi Mohammad Riaz, was shot dead at his residence near the Shahdara Sharif shrine in Thanamandi, Poonch. Another of his party colleagues was killed at Mendhar in Rajouri. The worst pre-election attack occurred on September 11, when a rally being addressed by All India Congress Committee (I) general secretary Ambika Soni and State Congress (I) president Ghulam Nabi Azad was attacked in Surankote city. Four unidentified terrorists opened fire on the rally killing ten SF personnel and two civilians. While two terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing by the SFs, 22 civilians were injured in this incident.
Approximately 41 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise in the second phase of polling, conducted on September 24 in the districts of Jammu and Srinagar. While relatively lesser number of voters exercised their franchise in the urban segments of Srinagar, voter turnout was high in the rural areas.
With approximately 30 attacks on polling stations and security forces since September 30 night, the third phase of polling on October 1 in Pulwama and Anantnag districts was the most violent among the four phases. Seven SF personnel were killed in Pulwama when a vehicle carrying a unit of the 47th battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) returning to Awantipore was targeted at Graogund in the Sangam-Awantipore belt. Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts were reported at poling stations in the Littar, Gulzarpora and Kellar areas of Pulwama district. Besides, incidents of grenade attacks and firing by terrorists were also reported from Saimoh, Machhahama, Midora, Pinglish, Khasipora, Naner, Shikargah, Lam, Kehlil (Tral), Kamaldan, Shopian, Kharwari (Shopian), Zampathri, Kellar (Rajpora), Arigo, Awdara (Kulgam), Telwani (Shangus), Bijbehara and Kokernag.
The final phase of polling on October 8 also witnessed terrorist violence including a grenade attack by two-suspected fidayeen (suicide squad) of the Lashkar-e-Toiba at the Town Hall polling station No. 4 in Doda district. Two SF personnel were killed and four others and a voter were injured in this attack, which occurred early in the morning when polling had just commenced. An estimated 52 per cent of the approximately 450,000-strong electorate cast their votes in six constituencies of Doda district during this phase.
The J&K electorate gave a fractured mandate with no single party reaching the figure of 44 seats (in a 87-member Legislative Assembly) required to form a government. The National Conference, which had a two-thirds majority in the previous Assembly, could win only 28 seats and was thus unseated. The Congress party emerged as the second largest party with 20 seats, followed by the People's Democratic Party with 16, and CPI (M) with two and rest of the seats going to independents and others. After much delay, for the first time in the history of the State, a multi-party coalition government led by the PDP’s Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took office on November 2. A majority of the political parties, independent candidates, non-governmental groups, human rights activists, media (both domestic and foreign) and the international community, appreciated the credibility of the elections and the results that followed it.
Post-Elections
The multi-party coalition released a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) outlining the goals of the ruling coalition and the strategy that would be adopted to achieve those goals. Among others, the CMP mandates the assimilation of the Special Operations Group (SOG), alleged to be responsible for several human rights abuses in the State, into the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Secondly, the alliance has said it will terminate the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), and release alleged terrorists held for long period of time facing trial for minor offences. Along with this, compensation to the families of victims of terrorism is to be doubled, while the children of terrorists who have been killed will receive State support for their education. Finally, the CMP calls for an unconditional dialogue with terrorist groups.
There was no let up in terrorist violence after the new government assumed office on November 2. Approximately 119 civilians and 88 SF personnel were killed during the months of November and December. 38 persons, including 17 SF personnel, were killed in three separate terrorist strikes in a span of three days during the last week of November. Ghulam Mohiuddin Lone, elder brother of slain State Law Minister Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, was killed outside his residence in Sogam village, Lolab area of Kupwara district on December 5. On December 20, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Abdul Aziz Mir of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) was assassinated by an unidentified terrorist near Pampore town. Terrorist groups realizing that their threats to disrupt the democratic process in J&K had failed decided to attack the new coalition government. These high-intensity attacks also occurred against the backdrop of what is being perceived as a 'soft approach' adopted by the new coalition government headed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Evidently, the decision not to implement the POTA, the proposal to merge the SOG into the J&K Police, and the release of some terrorists and secessionist leaders has substantially emboldened the terrorist groupings.
Furthermore, there was no systematic de-escalation in the levels of terrorist violence in J&K since the pre-election spurt - indeed, the beginning of the year - and monthly variations would largely be attributable to operational inefficiencies, extraordinary international pressure on Pakistan for brief periods of time, or other transient factors. 152 civilians and 120 SF personnel have been killed till the year-end since the completion of the electoral process in the State on October 8.
Towards implementing the CMP, the coalition government of Mufti Sayeed has enlarged a number of terrorists on bail, including, prominently, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) 'commander' Nazir Ahmad Sheikh and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) 'commander' Mohammad Ayub, as well as former terrorist and current secessionist Yasin Malik, chairman of the JKLF. The State government further announced in December 2002 that it had set up a five-member joint screening committee to decide on the release of political prisoners and militants. The State Government has also announced its decision to hold talks on the Kashmir issue "without any pre-conditions" with a mélange of groups actively pursuing the agenda of violence.
Terrorist Finances
During the year, various terrorist and secessionist groups continued to raise substantial amounts of money through Hawala (trust) transactions and a wide range of organised criminal and illegal business operations. Within the larger web of terrorist financing, such methods constituted a reliable option since it almost leaves no paper trail, and escapes conventional detection mechanisms, even as it transfers large quantities of funds across the globe in a matter of hours. There were a substantial number of recoveries and arrests in such transactions in J&K in the post-9/11 period. On December 6, 2001, the arrest of Abdul Rashid Lone, 'group commander' of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in the Baramulla area, led to recovery of Rs. 4 million. On the same day, Abdul Rehman Sofi alias Rehman Lala and Mohammed Shabban Khan were arrested in Delhi while returning from a meeting with HM chief Syed Salahuddin in Pakistan. Their confessions led to the recovery of Rs. 1.5 million received through Hawala for distribution to the HM, LeT and JeM. On December 13, 2001, the killing of Nazir Ahmad Yattoo alias Shakir Ghaznavi, HM 'divisional commander' (who was also looking after the distribution of finances), during an encounter with security forces at Pattan in Baramulla district, was followed by the recovery of Rs. 3.2 million. On January 14, 2002, the arrest of four Kashmiris linked to the LeT at Delhi led to the recovery of Rs. 3.49 million, which they had received through Hawala channels on behalf of the South Kashmir Valley 'commander' of the Lashkar. The four, according to official sources, had arrived in the capital with plans to cause explosions at crowded places and disrupt normal life in the run-up to the Republic Day Parade on January 26. Another Rs. 460,000 was recovered from a Delhi-based Hawala operator who had provided the money to the Lashkar cadres.
On March 24, the arrest of Shamima Khan, a Srinagar-based Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) activist at Kud on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was followed by the recovery of Rs. 4.8 million meant for Yasin Malik, Chairman of JKLF. Khan revealed during interrogation that she had received the money from a Hurriyat activist, Altaf Qadiri, at a hotel in the Bagh Bazaar area of Kathmandu in Nepal. Subsequently, the arrest on May 22 of Imtiyaz Ahmed Bazaz, a Srinagar-based journalist, led to the unraveling of an elaborate Hawala network. Bazaz is reported to have worked as a conduit for the flow of finances from the London-based physicist Dr. Ayub Thokar, President of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement, to Asiya Indrabi, chief of Dukhtaraan-e-Millat (DeM) and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a former chairman of the APHC. Consequently, Geelani was arrested on June 9 under POTA and shifted to the Ranchi central Jail in Jharkhand State, on charges of receiving money from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) through the Hawala channels and later distributing the same to different terrorist groups, including the HM. Bazaz is reported to have confessed that HM chief Salahuddin had been sending money to his local 'commanders' through Thokar and Geelani. Moreover, as Indrabi's husband Qasim Faktu was 'financial chief' of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), she also received money from Thokar through Bazaz to provide finances to JuM as well as DeM.
Terrorist Groups
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) on July 24, the then Union Minister of State for Home, Vidyasagar Rao, said the possibility of Al Qaeda terrorists having infiltrated into J&K cannot be ruled out. He said the government was receiving reports that, following the defeat of the Taliban and other foreign terrorists who were in Afghanistan prior to November 2001, a substantial number of erstwhile Taliban and allied Islamist fundamentalist groups had crossed over to Pakistan and PoK. These terrorists, he added, were likely to join groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Al Badr and the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen for their eventual infiltration into J&K as also to escalate terrorist violence in the State and elsewhere in India. The police in Kolkata arrested in January 2003 a front ranking terrorist of the Al Qaeda with Taliban links, who reportedly operated in Kashmir during the year 2002. The Myanmarese-born Fazle Karim alias Abu Fuzi Fazle Karim is reported to have confessed that he came in contact with two higher ranking officers of Pakistan’s ISI in Chittagong, Bangladesh, who had assigned him the task of creating an Al Qaeda network in the Kashmir Valley. Karim said he succeeded in identifying ‘safe hideouts’ for the Al Qaeda and Taliban cadres in the Valley during his six-month stay with the help of the HuJI. He reached Kolkata to cross over to Bangladesh to manage Taliban’s infiltration into the Valley when the police apprehended him.
Among the terrorist groups currently active in the State, the Lashkar-e-Toiba emerged to be one of the most potent. It was responsible for at least 10 suicide attacks during 2002. One of the high-intensity strikes was the September 24-attack on the Akshardham Temple of the Swaminarayan sect of Hindus in the western Indian State of Gujarat. Although a crack team of the National Security Guards (NSG) eventually killed both the Lashkar fidayeen, 32 persons, including 16 women and four children, had lost their lives, and at least another 74 had been injured. Again, on November 24, 2002, at least 12 persons were killed and 45 others injured, when three LeT fidayeen simultaneously attacked two shrines – Raghunath and Panjbakhtar temples – in the heart of Jammu City. Violence recommenced briefly around the Panjbakhtar temple the next morning when a third terrorist, presumed to be part of the same squad was engaged and neutralized by the by SFs. J&K Director General of Police A.K. Suri indicated that the LeT was responsible for this attack, the second in eight months on the Raghunath temple. This information was derived from a telephone call received by Suri at his residence in which a "Pakistani LeT cadre" said, "we have done it and now it is your turn." The Jaish-e-Mohammed, another prominent Pakistan-based group active in J&K, was described by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in August 2002 as among the deadliest organisations in the "terrorist underworld."
A new strategy adopted rather frequently during the year by the Pakistan-based terrorist formations was the emergence of front outfits and adoption of new names. The names of these groups emerged only in the context of claiming responsibility of specific terrorists attacks carried out by the more prominent and known groups. Official sources have pointed out that fictitious names like Al Mansooran are being used by groups like the LeT for taking credit for the massacre of civilians and other terrorist incidents. This is being viewed as a part of a strategy by the terrorist groups to avoid adverse notice by the international community and any consequent action against it by them. Deputy Premier L K Advani said in New Delhi on October 9, "All terrorist organisations have been directed by ISI not to claim responsibility for attacks they carry out, as they used to do earlier. For the past about six months, these outfits are not staking claim." The Al-Madina Regiment (AMR), a frontline group of the Al-Umar Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the June 23 attack in Srinagar when Omar Abdullah took over as president of the then ruling National Conference. It is suspected to be involved in the May 21 assassination of Hurriyat leader Lone in Srinagar. Jammu and Kashmir police on July 6 arrested 12 AMR terrorists from Srinagar in connection with the Lone killing. The AMR also claimed responsibility for the June 27 attack on the Pahalgam-Chandanwari road—part of the Amarnath yatra route— in which three SF personnel were killed. According to official sources, Al Umar Mujahideen and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen cadres have been enrolled in the AMR in Srinagar. Official sources indicated during the year that three Lashkar factions were active in the State. Among them, the Babul Hind Force was active in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, Azam Jehad, whose main objective is to target security forces was active in Doda and Udhampur districts of Jammu and the Al Mansooran, which operates in the Jammu region.
In its efforts to derail the electoral process in J&K, Pakistan’s ISI reportedly formed the Kashmir Liberation Army, a new umbrella organisation to ensure the smooth coordination between various terrorist groups under a unified command. The alliance, including JeM and LeT, was headed by Al Umar chief Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, one of the three terrorists released by India in exchange of hostages of the Indian Airlines plane IC 814 in December 1999. Attempts to merge all Pakistan-based outfits with those inside the Valley were aimed at dismantling the universal perception that Islamabad has been guilty of cross-border terrorism. Pakistani media reported in August 2002 that cadres of two main groups in that country - Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed – were placed at the disposal of either Syed Salahuddin's Hizb or Zargar's Al-Umar. According to official sources, the level of co-ordination between various terrorist groups witnessed during the year 2002 had not been noticed by security forces earlier.
Terrorist groups active in J&K were also linked during the year to attacks outside the State. For instance, the LeT was responsible for the Akshardham attack and the HuJI is suspected to have carried out the attack on the American Centre at Kolkata on January 22 through its front outfit Asif Reza Commando Force (ARCF). Aftab Ansari, prime accused in the Kolkata attack, is reported to have admitted on February 13 to his active links with the LeT, JeM and the HuJI.
Another tactic used by the terrorist groups was to target women and children. During 2002, in an estimated 51 incidents where women and children were targeted, 64 women and 27 children were killed while many others sustained injuries. Further, the killing of at least seven infants and girls by terrorists in December was intended towards creating a fear psychosis among the residents of the border areas. The withdrawal of troops from the borders in October and of the extra security forces after the successful completion of elections had rendered the LoC porous for terrorist movement. Senior police officials in the State have pointed out that there are approximately 1800-2000 terrorists in the Jammu region, with most of them concentrated in and around the Poonch and Rajouri districts. Terrorist groups also issued diktats to girls to wear the burqa (veil) and not go to educational institutions. The beheading of three girls in Rajouri on December 20 was aimed at getting their diktat implemented. Earlier, the Lashkar-e-Jabbar (LJ) in its attempts to force Islamic dress codes threw acid at two Muslim girls for not wearing the burqain Srinagar's Khanyar area on August 9. In attempting to pursue their agenda of Talibanisation, terrorists directed Muslims in the State to follow a set of guidelines like the Taliban militia had done in Afghanistan. While in Rajouri, the LJ directed women to wear burqas and men to wear caps and grow beards in keeping with ‘Islamic traditions’, another group Hai-e-Allal Fallah (HF) threatened to attack shopkeepers who sell liquor or tobacco in Kashmir. The HF, a hitherto unknown group, claimed responsibility for setting ablaze a cigarette shop on December 23 in Srinagar. In a faxed statement to a local news agency, HF spokesperson Mohammed bin Qasim said, "Shopkeepers selling cigarettes, tobacco, liquor and other narcotic items should completely close down their businesses at once… Our aim is to cleanse the society of evils like cigarette smoking, drinking and use of narcotics." In Rajouri district, the LJ directed Muslim women to desist from going to educational institutions, have a male escort while going out of the house and sit separately from men in buses. A circular put up by the group in the Degree College in Rajouri warned people against defying their diktats. The Lashkar-e-Toiba issued warnings to alcohol sellers in south Kashmir to close down their 'un-Islamic' business. In a related incident, on January 6, 2003, unidentified terrorists killed a wine shop owner at Solina in Srinagar. The HuJI directed Muslim women to quit jobs in the Jammu and Kashmir Police and also set January 25, 2003, as a deadline or "face serious consequences". In a poster pasted at a mosque in the Shahdra Sharief in Rajouri district, the group said all Muslim girls should get married after they turn 15 and also desist from taking bath in the open in the rivulets.
Pakistan continued with its policy of infiltration although there were certain periods, which saw decreasing levels. A high level of cross-border movement from March to May preceded the decrease in infiltration detected through June 2002. However, official sources have pointed out that the number of terrorists currently present on ground allows the Pakistani regime to sustain violence in J&K at levels that sufficiently serve its strategic aims. On December 17, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) Defence Minister George Fernandes said many of the terrorist camps or training centers in Pakistan, which were closed or relocated to interior areas during July-August 2002, have been reopened. Furthermore, a January 2003 report indicated that the ISI has doubled the incentive for terrorist organisations carrying out attacks in India. Reportedly, it has set up a ‘Refugee Maintenance Cell’, which provides daily allowances to terrorists of every outfit. Quoting interrogation reports of several terrorists arrested by security forces during year 2002, the report said that a retired Pakistani Colonel, Abdul Rehman, heads the Cell. Rehman, who has served in Bangladesh, is also responsible for providing additional allowances to terrorists staying in refugee camps. The inmates of these camps are shown to the world community as migrants from Jammu and Kashmir. The amount spent on launching of terrorist detachments into the Valley is taken from the operational money, the report says and adds that every outfit has its launching detachments located along the LoC. The report says that as per the new formula, smaller terrorist groups like the Al-Barq get Rs 700,000 per month for their operational expenses while larger groups like the Hizb receive approximately Rs 5 million.
A February 16, 2003, media report said that the ISI is infiltrating more foreign mercenaries into J&K. According to data prepared by security agencies, from November 2002 to the first week of February 2003, approximately 304 terrorists are reported to have crossed over to J&K across the International Border and LoC. The figure during the corresponding period in 2001-2002 was 467. However, the percentage of foreign mercenaries among the infiltrators during the present period has increased to approximately 80 per cent as compared to 24.62 per cent during the same period in 2001-2002, the report said. The ISI is reported to have infiltrated 241 foreign mercenaries and 63 local terrorists during November 2002 and February 2003 as compared to 352 locals and 115 foreigners during the corresponding period in 2001-2002.
A December 30 media report indicated that approximately 5,000 terrorists from J&K were present at various camps in Pakistan. A majority of these terrorists hail from the Valley, while 10 to 15 per cent belong to the Rajouri and Poonch districts. The report indicates that the ISI has had to shift Kashmiri terrorists from PoK to certain areas in Pakistan Punjab and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) after the May 14-Kaluchak massacre near Jammu. These details are mostly based on revelations made by some captured terrorists in the course of their interrogation in the preceding months. More than 1,000 terrorists had reportedly been shifted to a location in Pakistan Punjab near the Haripur-Taxila Road (HTR). Those shifted to the HTR section were drawn from four major groups––the HuJI, JuM, Al-Barq and Al-Umar. Intelligence inputs, according to the report, revealed the presence of 1,500 to 2,000 Kashmiri terrorists in NWFP with a majority of then affiliated to the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Further, the HM, on January 8, 2003 confirmed that security forces in J&K had killed 334 of its cadres during the year 2002. In a statement, its spokesperson said the slain terrorists included 49 ‘district commanders’, six ‘battalion commanders’, five ‘company commanders’ and 11 ‘section commanders’. The spokesperson also claimed the Hizb carried out 567 attacks, including 78 IED blasts, 129 grenade/rocket attacks, 182 ambushes and three suicide attacks.
Terrorist Weaponry
According to official sources, new and improved forms of weaponry were used by the terrorist formations during 2002. Some of these witnessed for the first time in the State indicate that acquirement of weaponry is a continuing process for these groups. For instance, security forces recovered a surface-to-air missile (SAM) along with its portable shoulder-fired launcher from the Nagri-Malpora forest area in Kupwara on December 14. This is the first time such a missile has been recovered in the Valley. In 2001, a similar surface-to-air missile had been recovered from a Lashkar-e-Toiba hideout in the Poonch area. Further, the ISI is reported to have introduced solar Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which can reportedly blow up with the first ray of sun and can also cause maximum casualties to security forces, particularly a Road Opening Party (ROP). Moreover, the solar IED is very small in size and can be easily handled. Official sources said in August 2002 that this is for the first time during the decade long militancy in J&K that SFs recovered solar IEDs. Furthermore, October 2002 reports indicated the use of satellite phones by terrorist cadres as an alternate and secure mode of communication. Reports of February 2003 have pointed out that in order to replicate the 9/11 attacks in J&K, the ISI has directed terrorists, especially of the LeT, to use ‘toy planes’ to target army posts and prominent personalities. Quoting an interrogation report of an LeT cadre arrested in the State, official sources have indicated that the ISI had handed over a "fleet" of four dozen such planes, capable of carrying 10-15 kilograms of RDX, to the LeT for carrying out attacks on army posts or helicopter gun ships of the Indian Air Force. The ‘toy planes’, which can be operated by a remote control, take a set trajectory and hit a target within a range of 300 metres. The arrested Lashkar cadre reportedly revealed that the ISI was also planning to destroy some of the forward Indian positions at the LoC and International Border using these ‘toy planes’. The ‘planes’ were reportedly being assembled in the Lashkar-dominated area of Muridke in Pakistan.