A total of 76 militants, including 59 foreigners from Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish, and Lashkar-e-Taiba, are currently active in J&K, revealed government data on Thursday.
The data shows a sharp decrease in the number of active militants in UT, where a total of 91 militants were active in 2024.
Out of 76 active militants, 17 are said to be local, operating within the UT-being hotspot of violence-related militant activities since the late 1980s
Of the 59 active foreign militants, the sources said, three belong to Hizbul Mujahideen, 21 from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and 35 from Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, three of 17 local militants are active in Jammu and 14 in the Valley.
In 2024, out of 91 active militants, 61 were foreigners, mostly Pakistanis, and 30 were locals.
The data points out that a total of 135 militants were active in 2022. Of them, 85 were foreign militants, and 50 were local militants. Compared with the figure of active militants in 2022, there was nearly a 48.35 per cent decline in the number of active militants in 2023.
Pakistan-based groups, primarily JeM and LeT, have been responsible for major attacks, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2016 Uri attack, and the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
These groups operate with logistical support from across the border, using infiltration routes along the Line of Control (LoC).
Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) has traditionally focused on recruiting local militants.
In recent years, radicalisation via social media has contributed to the rise of “homegrown” militants in Kashmir. However, recruitment has significantly declined due to security forces’ targeted operations.
The data further revealed that a total of 72 militants were killed in 2023, including 22 local militants and 50 foreign militants.
In 2022, a total of 187 were killed, comprising 130 local and 57 foreign militants.
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