NEW DELHI – With the occupied Kashmir Valley enveloped by rising violence,the Indian Army on Friday said it would prioritize bringing radicalizedyouth to the mainstream through a “collective approach” and convincemilitants to “shun violence and gun culture”.
The issue of conducting de-radicalizing exercises along with counter-terroroperations in the Kashmir Valley was discussed during the ongoing biannualArmy Commanders’ Conference that began here on Monday amid reports thatIslamic State ideology was moulding new-age militants in the state.
“It was felt that priority must be accorded towards ushering peace byconducting counter-terrorist operations that minimize collateral damage.Radicalized youth must be brought into the mainstream by carrying outde-radicalization and collective approach that focuses on convincing theyouth to shun violence and gun culture,” Director General Staff Duties Lt.Gen. AK Sharma told reporters.
Lt. Gen. Sharma, who earlier headed Nagrota-based 16 Corps in Jammu, didn’texplain what kind of exercise the Army would employ to de-radicalizeKashmiri youth who appear to be getting influenced by Islamic Stateideology amid heightened violence in the Kashmir Valley.
Staring at yet another possible hot summer with hundreds of militants andmany civilians already killed in the first three and a half months of thisyear, dozens of youths in Kashmir have reportedly joined three prominentmilitant groups: Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and a resurgentJaish-e-Mohammad.
These groups have been historically linked to Pakistan and largely favour amerger of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.
But new-age militants, including those from Ansar Ghazwat ul Hind of formerHizb commander Zakir Musa, have openly favoured pan-Islamism overnationalist goals, seeking “martyrdom or imposition of sharia” and declaredjihad against not only India but “apostate” Pakistan too.
Though there is no concrete data available to prove the Islamic State’sphysical presence in Kashmir, its online propaganda and the way it isinfluencing young Kashmiris indicate that the global terror group may haveKashmir ambitions at the very least.
Top Army commanders during the six-day conference that ends on Saturdayalso discussed the current situation along the borders with China andPakistan, particularly “along the Line of Control, the increase inceasefire violations and the adequacy of the response mechanisms”, said Lt.Gen. Sharma
“The apex commanders confabulated on the prevalent situation in the Valleyand reviewed the recent developments affecting modus operandi of theoperations of the armed forced deployed in the region,” he said, referringto the trend of civilians rushing to shootout sites to hurl stones atsecurity forces in a bid to help militants escape.
The senior commanders, he said, also deliberated at length on theprevailing situation along the northern borders.
“During the conference, considerable time was spent on re-prioritizing theexisting requirements to ensure that the resources allocated for forcemodernization and capacity building were utilized optimally with thebudgetary allocation. The discussions also dwelt upon increasing thecontent of indigenization in force modernization.”
On the last day of the conference, the commanders would deliberate onmatters pertaining “exclusively to military operations”, he said.