200 militants active in Kashmir, 1/3 are foreigners: CRPF

Around 200 militants are active in Kashmir, out of which one-third are foreigners, but the forces were taking "due care" of the incidents of violence, CRPF said today, while maintaining that there was significant improvement in the situation.
"There are different estimates (about the number of militants in the Valley), but there is a mix of foreign and local militants and the number is not very large at this point of time. Maybe around 200, out of which one-third could be foreign militants," CRPF Special DG, S K Bhagat told reporters here.
Speaking to media at the sidelines of a passing-out parade of CRPF here, Bhagat said there was an upsurge of militants crossing over, especially before the onset of winters.

"This has been there over the years. But all said and done, one can still say that the incidents that have been taking place..Have been taken care of and the security forces have been able to neutralize a lot of militants.
"Recently, there was firing on a CRPF convoy in which as many as six personnel were injured. The very next day, with the help of the Special Operation Group (SOG), the CRPF was able to neutralize two militants," he said.
The official noted that 40 militants were neutralised in the Valley this year with the help of CRPF.

"Not only that, especially in the context of maintaining law and order, in as many as 130 incidents, almost 200 CRPF personnel have been injured and some of them grievously. But despite all these provocations, the forces have not gone berserk by resorting to indiscriminate firing. That gives us the entire picture," he said.

Bhagat emphasized that "over a period of time, the militancy has come down drastically and there has been a progressive improvement in the situation in the Valley."
He said despite the challenges that the CRPF faces in the Valley, the forces have been acting with a "lot of restraint".
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The official said the CRPF was ready to take any role which the government mandates them.
"We are always ready to take up any role and even prior to this, we were in that lead role. It is not an issue at all.
"And with the quality of training, interface and the exposure that the CRPF has, that will certainly help the forces, the local government and the people, in their functions in the best possible manner," Bhagat said.

The CRPF Special DG revealed that during the last five years, the force has inducted as many as 3,800 people from the Valley and prior to that in the year 1996-97, it has also inducted a large number of ex-militants.
648 recruits joined the CRPF at the passing-out parade here after 44 weeks of rigorous training.
Of these, 349 were from Uttar Pradesh, 279 from Bihar and one recruit from Jammu and Kashmir.