116 terrorists killed in Kashmir this year

NEW DELHI: Lashkar terrorists Abu Dujana and Arif Lilhaari were the 115th and 116th terrorists to be killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year. As per official figures shared by top sources in the security establishment, 114 terrorists were eliminated in the state till July 31, as against 92 in the corresponding period of 2016. Interestingly, 22 terrorists were killed in July 2017 alone.
The figure of 116 terrorists killed till August 1 way exceeds the 72 and 67 terrorists eliminated in J&K in all of 2012 and 2013 respectively, when UPA was in power. The numbers picked up during NDA's tenure, touching 110 in 2014, 108 in 2015 and 150 in 2016. "Terrorists killed so far this year have already surpassed the figure for 2014 and 2015. Given the security establishment's resolve to keep up the heat on J&K terrorists in the days and months to come, all with due political backing, the figure for 2017 is expected to cross the 150 terrorists killed last year," a home ministry official said. The killing of Abu Dujana on Tuesday, described as one of the biggest successes for counter-terror forces in J&K, is in keeping with the Centre's overall policy to go all out against terrorists with intelligence-based operations that must be taken to their logical end even if they face local resistance.
"The government's approach on J&K is a three-pronged one - concerted action against terrorists leading to their elimination where they refuse to surrender, notwithstanding local protests around encounter sites; parallel crackdown on Hurriyat separatists linked to terror funding; and a softer attitude towards local civilians so that they don't feel alienated or victimized," the ministry official said, adding that this approach would continue.
Sources in the government said the pressure on terrorists would be stepped up further, with plans to eliminate other high-value terrorists like LeT's Abu Ismail, who is likely to take Dujana's place in south Kashmir, and former Hizbul leader and now al-Qaida-linked Zakir Musa. With useful human intelligence being generated by J&K police sources on the ground and good coordination among the police, CRPF and Army, the Centre is optimistic of inflicting reverses on terrorists in J&K.