Mudassir Kuloo
Srinagar, Feb 19: Kashmir has witnessed one militancy-related incident on an average daily during the last five years in which the fatalities of forces personnel increased by 93 percent, reveals data compiled by Union Home Ministry.
Between 2014 and 2018, a total of 1,315 people were killed in the state, which witnessed 1,708 militancy incidents. The number of the dead, the data claims, comprises of 138 civilians, 838 militants, and 339 forces personnel.
During these years, the number of civilian killings as per it has risen by 35.71 percent. Similarly, the number of militants’ and forces’ killing has increased by 133.63 and 93 percent, respectively.
While 47 forces personnel, as per the data, were killed in 2014, 2018 saw 91 forces personnel, almost double the preceding number, getting killed during militancy incidents in the valley.
110 militants, the data shows were killed in 2014, a number that increased to 257 in 2018. While 28 civilians, as per Home Ministry, were killed in 2014, 2018 saw 38 civilian deaths.
Of course, the central government’s data records lesser number of civilian deaths as had actually occurred in, for instance, 2016, when over a 100 of them were killed in a matter of few months post the killing of 21-year-old Hizb commander Burhan Wani in July 2016.
There has been an increase in number of militant recruitment too in the last few years. This trend began after the killing of Burhan, which, eventually led to increase in attacks on government forces by militants.
The Union Home Ministry figures reveal that in 2014, there were 222 militancy incidents in the state. During 2015, there were 208 incidents.
However, since 2016, the number of militant incidents has seen an upward trend.
During 2017, 342 incidents were reported. Year 2018 saw huge increase in attacks as 614 militant attacks were reported, indicating 51 attacks on an average every month.
So far in 2019 too, almost every day, a militant attack or an encounter has taken place, especially in south of Kashmir, which has a significant presence of militants.
During 2016, Hizb commander Burhan Wani along with two of his aides were killed in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, which led to almost six-month unrest in the Valley. Since then, there has been an increase in the recruitment of militants.
IGP Kashmir S P Pani had said that 97 encounters took place in the previous year of which 83 witnessed no collateral damage.“252 militants were killed in 2018. We lost 45 JKP personnel, nine CRPF men and 30 army soldiers. 44 civilians were also killed by militants in the past year,” the Kashmir police chief said in a press conference last month.
