New Delhi, Jan 8:As many as 183 civilians were killed in militant-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir in the last four years, while 300 militants are active in the state, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question in the House, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir said that 838 militants were neutralised by security forces in the state from 2014 to 2018. “1,213 militant incidents have taken place in the state during the same period,” he added.”According to reports around 300 militants are active in Jammu and Kashmir and they are helped by some locals,” the House was further informed.

Apart from Jammu and Kashmir, six incidents involving militants were reported from other parts of the country during the same period in which 11 civilians lost their lives and seven militants were neutralised, Union Minister Ahir stated in the Lower House of Parliament.

Union Minister Ahir said that to tackle the situation, the government has adopted ‘zero tolerance policy’ towards militancy and ‘effective response is being given by security forces to counter militant activities.’

Replying to another question, the Union Minister informed the House that the government was aware of the misuse of social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook by militants.”Since police and public order are state subjects,” the minister said, “prevention, detection, and investigation of such crimes are being done through their law enforcement machinery.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)