Terrorists in Kashmir under pressure, stone pelters have dwindled: Jaitley

New Delhi, Aug 13: Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that terrorists in Kashmir “are now under great pressure” and the number of stone pelters has “dwindled from hundreds and thousands to 20 or 30”. “I feel that armed terrorists in the Valley are now under great pressure and they are practically on the run. Earlier terrorists used to cross the Line of Control (LoC) in thousands, but now it has dwindled, and security forces are domiting,” Jaitley said while speaking at the day-long India TV conclave ‘Vande Mataram’ here. He said that earlier, during encounters, hundreds or thousands of stone pelters used to assemble to allow free passage to militants. “Today their numbers have dwindled to 20, 30 or 50.”

The Minister added that no militant can now dream of committing acts of terror or continue to terrorize the valley for decades. “Today their life shelf has dwindled to a few months,” he said. “I will specifically praise the Jammu and Kashmir Police for working hard (towards elimiting terrorists),” he said.

Jaitley said the currency squeeze after demonetization and the tiol Investigation Agency (NIA) action on ‘Hawala’ deals by separatist leaders has resulted in terrorists now looting banks in the Valley for the first time. “Today on the LoC and on the Intertiol Border, our forces are practically domiting, and it has become very difficult for terrorists to intrude, especially after our army’s surgical strikes,” he said. To a query on the use of ISIS flags by terrorists in the Valley, Jaitley termed them “isolated incidents” and said that the country is “free from the mece of ISIS”.

He said his government wants India to become a global power in the defence manufacturing sector. “And towards that end, we are encouraging private players to come forward. We will, of course, also continue to strengthen our ordnce factories and defence PSUs.” (IANS)