Government worried as Hizbul Cadre swells up after Wani’s killing

NEW DELHI: While security forces are grappling with militants from across the border, the re-stirring of home grown insurgency after Burhan Wani’s killing is helping Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) to carry out fresh recruitment in Kashmir.

As per an assessment by intelligence agencies, the Hizbul Mujahideen cadre has swelled from 81 in 2015 to 108. This number was 31 in 2013, the agencies said. Hizbul had recently anointed 21-year-old Zakir Rashid Bhat, a civil engineering student, as Wani’s successor.

The rise in Hizbul numbers is an area of serious concern for the government as local militants elicit an immediate wave of sympathy if they are killed by security forces. Union home minister Rajnath Singh recently took up the matter with the Mehbooba Mufti government of Jammu and Kashmir and asked the state police to prepare an action plan for stopping youths from joining militancy.

“The killing of Burhan Wani, followed by violent clashes and deaths of locals, has given fresh impetus to Hizbul and they have managed to make inroads into many areas in south Kashmir,” said a senior home ministry official on the condition of anonymity.

Local militants have many advantages — they are more familiar with the topography of Kashmir, and a vast network of friends and relatives act as couriers and transporters. Another reason for the rise in Hizbul Mujahideen cadre could be sudden decline in operations by Army and state police, especially after Wani’s killing, intelligence officials said.

“This has led to a situation where militants are feeling emboldened. Also, the ongoing protest has made the atmosphere conducive for ultras to radicalise more and more young men and women,” explained an intelligence official.