SRINAGAR: According to an Indian military officer in the disputed area, 300 terrorists are believed to be active in Indian Kashmir. New Delhi is attempting to stabilize the unrest-ridden Himalayan territory it reorganized three years ago.
While both nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan claim the whole area as their own, they only have partial authority over Kashmir.
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, commander of the Indian army's northern command, said to reporters, "According to our data, 82 Pakistani and 53 local terrorists are active." "The names of another 170 militants remain unknown."
India's capital, New Delhi, has long charged Pakistan with supporting armed terrorists and separatist organisations in the area.
Islamabad disputes the Indian claim, claiming that it merely offers spiritual and diplomatic assistance to the separatist cause.
An unnamed Pakistani security officer added, "All such charges by Indian military personnel are completely absurd, unfounded, frivolous and baseless."
The number of terrorists operating in Indian Kashmir is at its highest level in ten years, according to an Indian security official who wished to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
In August 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government split the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), then the country's only Muslim-majority region, into two federally administered territories.
The reorganization was enacted with a communications blackout and a harsh security clampdown, with the government flooding the heavily militarized region with additional troops.
Many of those restrictions have been eased, and the Kashmir valley, known for its snow-topped mountains and lush vistas, received more than 16 million tourists this year, the most since British colonial rule ended in 1947.
Dwivedi said that the security situation in Indian Kashmir had improved since the reorganization, but weapons and ammunition were still coming through from across the border.
"Small weapons are being used to target non-J&K residents who come here to earn their living," he said, referring to attacks on migrant workers.