More fidayeen attacks feared in Kashmir

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Fidayeen</span> attacks by militants in Kashmir are bound to increase in the coming days in a bid to thwart the Indo-Pak peace initiative and disrupt normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, army intelligence sources warned.<br /><br />According to sources, though infiltration from across the border has come down, there are as many as 4,000 militants who had already sneaked into the Kashmir valley, soon after the melting of snow, to strike terror.<br /><br />Apprehending more suicide attacks, the Army has put all its units in Jammu and Kashmir on high alert and announced that anti-militancy sweeps in the state would be stepped up.<br /><br />Recruitment to terrorist training camps at Muridke in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is still on and youth get enrolled with the aim of fighting security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the sources said.<br /><br />Inside these Lashkar-e-Taiba camps, teenage boys listen to lectures glorifying jehad and write their death wish before heading off to fight..."to seize control of J&K", they added.<br /><br />Two of the largest separatist outfits — Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed — claim to have recruited 3,350 and 2,235 boys respectively between January and June this year, reports indicated.<br /><br />"The US bombing of Afghanistan and Iraq is an attack on the Muslim fraternity. You will go to hell if you do not wage jehad against the US," Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed said publicly recently.<br /><br />"Send your boys to us. We will train them and send them to Kashmir for jehad," a report said quoting a message from Saeed.<br /><br />A week back Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin had also warned of "large-scale" suicide attacks if the international community does not step in to resolve the Kashmir row. <br /><br />"If the international community, particularly the US, does not take steps to rescue us from India''s state terrorism and there is no let-up in killing of children, molestation of women, looting and arson of properties, the Hizbul Mujahideen will be compelled to shortly launch <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">fidayeen</span> attacks on a large scale," Salahuddin had warned.<br /><br />According to Suba Chandran, Research Officer with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in Delhi, suicide attacks could increase as they result in a lot of publicity for the frustrated militant groups that perpetrate the attack. <br /><br />"In Kashmir, this publicity is very essential as militant groups need to compete with each other to gain popular support and prove their invincibility to their mentors and clientele. Publicity is crucial to attract more funds, especially from abroad, and boost up recruitment drive inside Kashmir; the more Kashmiris in its fold, the more support the group can garner in terms of logistics, planning and escape," Chandran, who has been closely monitoring the Kashmir issue, said.<br /><br />With Kashmiri participation in militant activities on the decline, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen besides a number of minor militant groups comprising Pakistanis and Afghans are triggering these <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">fidayeen</span> attacks to keep the hopes of the Kashmiris alive and reminding them that Pakistan will liberate Kashmir, he said.<br /><br />Chandran opined that "the Hizbul is considered the most indigenous militant group and its objective is very limited: it fights for an independent Kashmir and does not support the merger of Kashmir with Pakistan. The Lashkar-e-Taiba, comprising mainly of Pakistanis, is well organised and is independent (especially financially) of the ISI when compared to other militant organisations. For the Lashkar, Kashmir is a means to achieve its pan-Islamic objectives." <br /><br />Jehadi groups are finding the Pakistani environment particularly receptive after the US attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. They use publications, websites, prayer leaders, cassettes, CDs, and souvenirs like badges and T-shirts to lure recruits.<br /><br />New Delhi, according to officials, feels that the spurt in terrorist violence in Kashmir is to disrupt the peace process. Also, the fallout of the US war on Iraq contributed to the increase in terrorist activities in the region as the jehadis are aiming to exploit the American pre-occupation in the Gulf. <br /><br />The war in Iraq came at a good time for the jehadis, who were apparently hassled with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s ''hearts and minds'' policy. <br /><br />"With the All Party Hurriyat Conference, the main separatist platform, getting marginalised, Pakistan seems to be using the jehadis to push violence to its limits and thereby use that as an excuse to ask the US to force New Delhi into expediting the dialogue process," an official said.<br /><br />An Army spokesman said Operation Sarp Vinash, launched to flush militants from their hideouts in the Surankot heights, has now been widened with similar smaller scale operations being undertaken in other areas of Doda, South and North Kashmir.</div> </div>