DGP: 56 Pakistanis among 186 terrorists killed in J&K in 2022
Jammu/Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday said 56 Pakistani nationals were among 186 terrorists killed in the Union territory in 2022 and sounded a note of caution over online terrorism propagated by the neighbouring country, including the spread of fake news.
In Jammu, police chief Dilbag Singh told reporters that a total of 186 terrorists were killed and 159 arrested in 2022 which proved to be the "most successful" in recent years. He added that security agencies were moving in the right direction to achieve "zero terror" activities in J&K. Singh, during his year-end presser, also said that effective policing has helped in neutralising as many as 146 terror modules that had been tasked to carry out selective and targeted killings, besides grenade or Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks.
He said this year, around 100 youngsters joined the terror ranks in the Union territory, the lowest in many years, of which 63 were killed in encounters and 17 more arrested. "The remaining are still at large, and efforts were on to nab or deradicalise them," Singh added.
At the same time, Additional Director General of Police Vijay Kumar, who heads the Kashmir range, gave out similar figures but added that 2022 saw the emergence of a new challenge for security agencies Pakistan-sponsored online terrorism. "Pakistan-sponsored online terrorism is a challenge now like spreading fake news or propaganda and targeting journalists or civilians through Pak-based news agency KMS, Telegram channels, and online portal (Kashmirfight). All law enforcement agencies are jointly working to counter it," Kumar said in a series of tweets.
Dilbag Singh said the casualties suffered by police and the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces also recorded a dip in 2022, with 14 policemen and 17 CAPF personnel losing their lives in terror attacks.
He said civilian casualties came down during the year and 24 minor law and order incidents were reported. Efforts are on to ensure that this number drops to zero. The police chief said conspiracies to disturb peace are continuing from across the border but "we have been successful in ensuring that the local youth are not misled into the path of violence."
