Kashmir terrorists desert or live six to eight months, J&K police say
By: Aaron Hochman-Zimmerman
Srinagar, Kashmir, Feb. 1 - There may be up to 300 active terrorists in the Kashmir Valley, but most will not continue their fight beyond the summer, according to K. Rajendra Kumar, additional director general of police intelligence for Jammu & Kashmir.
Rocket and small arms fire from the Pakistani side has supported 12 known unsuccessful attempts by militants to cross the Line of Control between Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir so far in 2010.
Still, for those who have already infiltrated, "the life of a terrorist is six to eight months" on average, said Rajendra, others simply desert once they reach the Indian side.
Before making an attempt to cross, young men are typically recruited from Kashmir as well as Pakistan and sent to training camps in Pakistan for two weeks to three months.
New terror recruits are frequently poor and illiterate, but even if they are well-motivated, they are "rag-tag criminals," Rajendra said.
Many come from prisons where inmates volunteer to fight in order to have their sentences commuted, he said.
The more intelligent trainees are selected for longer courses in cyber-terror and bomb construction. The shorter programs are for those better suited as suicide bombers or "foot soldiers" used in hit-and-run type attacks on the police and military, he said.
In the camps, fighters are put through paces in prayers, motivational speeches, small arms and explosives. They are also shown videos of exaggerated atrocities committed by the United States, Israel and India, he said.
They are told that Muslims have no religious freedom in Kashmir, Rajendra said, but when they arrive "they are surprised at the number of mosques in Kashmir ... they feel that they have not been told the truth."
A few realize that they are just "cannon-fodder" and they walk away "demoralized," he said.
More often the terrorists are fanatical. They launched 10 attacks in January alone, a senior police official in Kashmir said, seven other stand-offs were intiated by the authorities based on reports of fighters' whereabouts.
Some militants lay low and avoid action in order to collect approximately 4,500 rupees ($100) as compensation for about one year of service, Rajendra has determined through interrogation and investigation.
During that time, they pay their way with counterfeit money "that is printed on [Pakistani] government presses" or legitimate currency provided by their terror networks, said E. Rammohen Rao, a former Border Security Forces director general and inspector general for Kashmir.
Aside from cash and sidearms, infiltrators also cross the Line of Control with heavier weaponry.
Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Indian constitution on Jan. 26, the J&K police seized a large arms cache of anti-personnel mines, grenades, mortars and 10 kilograms of the explosive RDX, the senior police official said.
"G-d was very kind that we could recover that," he said.
On Republic Day a city-wide work stoppage halted Srinagar, but the national holiday passed without incident in the city. In the past, boys have been paid up to 150 rupees each to pelt police with stones, Rajendra said.
"Attacks are always linked with media coverage" such as on Republic Day, said another top security official in J&K state, otherwise "nobody will know."
Motivated to fight
The fighters caught and interrogated y Indian security forces say that the case against India is made from a young age and often at Muslim schools or madrassas.
Some captured fighters say they were motivated by a religious belief in heavenly rewards, but others have told of a more tangible, earthly reward for the family of a martyr.
Among the lower social classes, parents may push their children toward martyrdom in order to elevate the status of the family, Rajendra said.
Once a son is martyred, a father becomes revered in the community; at public meetings "he can get a chair to sit," Rajendra said.
There also may be a cash benefit of about 500,000 rupees for the family of a fallen fighter, he added.
Pakistan itself has reason to support the militants in the Kashmir Valley, many Indian security officials believe.
The support for the militants themselves goes beyond covering fire during border crossings, said Rao.
"They are getting weapons from their own ISI," he said of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence.
A theory within India's security community is that if Pakistan can show the United States that Kashmir is drawing resources from its fight against the Taliban, then it can demand more aid from the West.
"In a way, they are blackmailing the U.S. into sending more money," Rajendra said.
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