NEW DELHI
A top Army commander on Sunday said that the local youth joining the militants ranks in Kashmir is a matter of concern, but said that the number is not large that will transform the security situation.
“There are reports that last year, according to our intelligence figures, about 60 local recruits, mostly from south Kashmir, and this year about 30-35 is the figure that we have,” Northern Army Commander Lt General D S Hooda said. “The number is not that large that it will transform the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir.”
The commander who was talking to reporters after laying wreath at the war memorial in Drass said that so far there is no footprint of IS in the state. “There is no large footprints, but the outfit is creeping toward this side,” he said. “The security has to stop the terrible organisation from setting a foothold in the country.”
Northern Army Commander Lt General D S Hooda at Drass, Kargil. Photo: Ministry of Defense
Commenting on the recent attacks on the mobile towers, Hooda said that the security forces were looking into the incidents.
“It is a matter of concern because mobile communication affects every man. It’s not so much that a tower has been attacked and two people have been injured there, it is the impact that it will have on the population as a whole,” he said.
