SRINAGAR: Calling the militancy in Kashmir a “zero-sum game”, security experts are calling for action on both internal and external fronts. Former J&K police chief SP Vaid said recruitment of militants is continuing. “You kill 200 militants in a year and 200 still remain. It is turning out to be a zero-sum game,” he said.
As many as 102 militants have been killed in encounters with security forces in Kashmir this year. At the end of 2021, Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh, said 168 militants were active in the Valley, the lowest since the outbreak of militancy.
However, Vaid questioned the inflow of weapons. “We don’t have pistol factories in Kashmir. They are either coming through drones or through infiltration from across the border,” he said, asking whether the government has probed how youth are being radicalised, or why they are joining militancy.
According to another ex-J&K police chief, Kuldip Khoda, both internal and external factors should be dealt with head on. “The big question is whether we are satisfied with containing militancy or interested in finishing it,” he said, adding, “India needs to be more adventurous militarily to make it costly for Pakistan to continue sponsoring militancy in J&K.”