The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved, according to the latest data compiled by the Central Government, reports The Print on April 18. After months of violence, local terror recruitment in Kashmir has come down, as have stone pelting incidents, especially during operations. Top sources in the security establishment said that a total of 18 local youth were recruited to militancy from Kashmir in the first three months of 2019. This is an improvement from the corresponding periods in 2018 and 2017, which saw 32 and 24 youngsters respectively join terror ranks.
It’s a similar scenario when it comes to stone pelting – January 2019 witnessed just 16 incidents, and while the number rose to 61 in February, it fell again to 24 in March. In contrast, October 2018 had witnessed around 190 incidents of stone pelting. “At no point of time has the operations subsided. Till now, a total of 68 terrorists have been killed in the hinterland. The incidents of stone pelting and the intensity of the pelting has also come down during the operations,” a source said.
Sources attributed the decline in recruitment and stone pelting incidents to the crackdown on the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir and terror financing, the deployment of a higher number of security personnel and the beginning of the election process.