5 out of 6 local militants in J&K have history of stonepelting: Army

Five out of six Kashmiri youngsters who join militancy have a record of being involved in pelting stones at security forces, the Army said on Friday.

"We have done an in-depth analysis of the data on insurgency in Kashmir. My request to Kashmiri mothers is, listen to this carefully, 83 per cent of the local terrorists were once stone-pelters. So, if your son is throwing stones on the forces today for Rs 500, then he is tomorrow's terrorist," General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps Lieutenant General KJS Dhillon told reporters here.

He said anyone who picked up the gun had a short shelf life as 64 per cent of them got killed within a year of doing so.

"Seven per cent terrorists die within 10 days, nine per cent in a month, 17 per cent in three months, 36 per cent in six months and 64 per cent in a year. If the parents do not stop their son from pelting stones, chances are he will be eliminated within a year of picking up the gun," the Army officer added.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh, who was also present at the joint press conference, said the security forces would assist any local youngster who wanted to return to the mainstream, as had been done in several cases in the past.

"Many youngsters have chosen to return and they are living with their families now. We can provide the same help to those militants who want to come back," he said.