'J&K militants in Taliban, Qaida possible'

NEW DELHI: Without ruling out possibilities of some Kashmiri militants joining Taliban and al Qaida ranks, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Thursday said security forces have been put on full alert to check an expected upsurge in infiltration from across the border in view of Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls slated for October.

"The possibilities of some Kashmiri militants being part of Taliban and al Qaida can not be ruled out, considering that the outfits were based on certain amount of fundamentalism and Jihadist tendencies," Kapoor said here after delivering a lecture on national security at the military think tank, IDSA.

"The fact is when insurgency in J&K was at its peak, we knew of a number of militants with foreign nationalities, besides our neighbours, operating here. When the militants get into a radicalised or fundamentalist mode, I do not think they worry about national boundaries or nationalities at all. They will go and wage so called Jihad anywhere alongside Taliban in Afghanistan or in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

The Army chief said India had assessed that about 48 per cent of militants operating in Kashmir were of foreign nationalities and that in the last couple of years, the number of foreign militants in J&K varied between 40 and 50 per cent.

"If there are foreign militants operating in Kashmir, there is always this possibility of some Kashmiri militants operating within Taliban and al Qaida in Afghanistan or anywhere else," he added.

Stating that the Indian Army personnel in J&K were alert to prevent any infiltration from across the border, Kapoor said this summer was crucial for the State's peace and stability in view of the Assembly polls.

"It is important that the State remains peaceful and safe and hence, it can not be ruled out that militants may try and create trouble. We are trying to ensure a peaceful environment in J&K so that people can go and cast their votes in the Assembly polls in a free and fair manner," the Army chief said.

Noting that violence levels in the State were down, he said the militants would certainly create trouble, as they wanted to sustain insurgency.

"If insurgency has to be sustained, then they must incite some trouble and make incidents happen. The very fact that there were reports of 11 militants being killed in a recent encounter in Kupwara indicated that attempts to destabilize J&K was in progress.

"That is why we are maintaining a strong stance along the Line of Control (LOC) to ensure that infiltration does not happen," he said.

On the possibilities of militants changing tactics, Kapoor said the process kept happening and the Army too continued refining its counter measures to the new militancy tactics.

"That is why violence levels are down in the valley on Thursday. And the militants' efforts to create violence has not been successful so far," he added.
J&K militants in Taliban, Qaida possible: Army chief

NEW DELHI: Without ruling out possibilities of some Kashmiri militants joining Taliban and al Qaida ranks, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Thursday said security forces have been put on full alert to check an expected upsurge in infiltration from across the border in view of Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls slated for October.

"The possibilities of some Kashmiri militants being part of Taliban and al Qaida can not be ruled out, considering that the outfits were based on certain amount of fundamentalism and Jihadist tendencies," Kapoor said here after delivering a lecture on national security at the military think tank, IDSA.

"The fact is when insurgency in J&K was at its peak, we knew of a number of militants with foreign nationalities, besides our neighbours, operating here. When the militants get into a radicalised or fundamentalist mode, I do not think they worry about national boundaries or nationalities at all. They will go and wage so called Jihad anywhere alongside Taliban in Afghanistan or in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

The Army chief said India had assessed that about 48 per cent of militants operating in Kashmir were of foreign nationalities and that in the last couple of years, the number of foreign militants in J&K varied between 40 and 50 per cent.

"If there are foreign militants operating in Kashmir, there is always this possibility of some Kashmiri militants operating within Taliban and al Qaida in Afghanistan or anywhere else," he added.

Stating that the Indian Army personnel in J&K were alert to prevent any infiltration from across the border, Kapoor said this summer was crucial for the State's peace and stability in view of the Assembly polls.

"It is important that the State remains peaceful and safe and hence, it can not be ruled out that militants may try and create trouble. We are trying to ensure a peaceful environment in J&K so that people can go and cast their votes in the Assembly polls in a free and fair manner," the Army chief said.

Noting that violence levels in the State were down, he said the militants would certainly create trouble, as they wanted to sustain insurgency.

"If insurgency has to be sustained, then they must incite some trouble and make incidents happen. The very fact that there were reports of 11 militants being killed in a recent encounter in Kupwara indicated that attempts to destabilize J&K was in progress.

"That is why we are maintaining a strong stance along the Line of Control (LOC) to ensure that infiltration does not happen," he said.

On the possibilities of militants changing tactics, Kapoor said the process kept happening and the Army too continued refining its counter measures to the new militancy tactics.

"That is why violence levels are down in the valley on Thursday. And the militants' efforts to create violence has not been successful so far," he added.