Pakistan moves on social media to revive terrorism in Kashmir | India News – Times of India

New Delhi: An exponential rise in social media activity in the past month by Pakistani and PoK-based terrorists, aimed at glorifying terrorism and secessionism in J&K, as well as threatening anti-India posts, is being seen by Indian security agencies as “a new bid by Pakistan-backed terror groups to revive local terror recruitment in J&K,” intelligence sources said.
An analysis by the agencies here of anti-India activities on ‘identified’ terror-linked accounts in Pakistan and PoK on platforms like Facebook, . alone (October-November), compared to 89 in the corresponding period of 2023. This translates into a more than 22-fold increase.
Of the nearly 2,016 objectionable posts, over 130 were terrorism-specific and anti-India rants, 33 supported separatism and separatism, and 310 were in the nature of threats to infrastructure and public places like schools etc, TOI has learnt.
A senior officer of the central security establishment told TOI that social media is the way to influence and exploit the impressive minds of J&K youth and radicalize them for anti-national activities – something that has made young Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani turned into a terror icon before he was assassinated in 2016 – follows a sharp decline in the number of local Kashmiris joining terrorist groups. Only four locals in J&K – two from Shopian and one each from Srinagar and Tral – were recruited for terrorist activities till November this year, down from 22 in 2023 and 113 in 2022. In fact, there are only 30 local terrorists active in J&K. today, versus 75-80 foreign terrorists.
“Efforts to increase local recruitment may not indicate plans for a troubled winter, but preparations for increased terror activities in the summer of 2025,” one officer said.
The decline in local recruitment in recent years was attributed by a senior government official of J&K to the zero-tolerance approach of the Central government and the UT administration in recent years, which not only focused on tackling terrorists but also on dismantling the terror. ecosystem by stifling funding and cracking down on underground supporters by denying them government jobs and approvals for passports, driver’s licenses, etc.
Interestingly, the increase in the social media reach of terrorist groups among J&K youth coincides with the installation of an elected government in the University.
Agencies are investigating whether the changed balance of power in J&K, even as control of the police remains with the LG, has emboldened Pakistan-based terrorist masterminds to create trouble there. A recent intelligence input warned of Pakistan’s ISI’s plan to target more than a dozen Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in Kashmir through their terror partners ‘in the near future’. This could be to create public unrest or may be related to JeI’s decision to enter the political space by participating in the recent J&K Assembly elections, a source told TOI.
Drone activity, meanwhile, remains a concern in J&K, with 40 sightings reported till October this year, compared to 31 in the corresponding period of 2023.