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500 Militants Active in Kashmir

By Fayaz Wani

Srinagar, March 2: The police chief of Kashmir has claimed that about 500 militants are presently active in Kashmir.

The police chief of Kashmir, S M Sahai said that about 500 militants are presently active in Kashmir. He said that Pakistan based militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba is more active than other militant groups especially Hizbul Mujahideen.

"We have weakened the Hizbul Mujahideen by killing its top commanders and active militants," he said.

The police chief said that the developments in Pakistan are not the reason behind the improvement of situation in Kashmir. "The improvement in the situation is because of our efforts by troops".

He said that the level of violence initiated by militants is very low in Kashmir. "84 percent of violence is in fact initiated by troops and police while only 16 percent is by the militants," he said.

He added, "Whenever police and forces get information about the presence of militants anywhere, they act quickly and in the subsequent encounters the militants get killed".

The police chief of Kashmir said that since militant groups are suffering casualties, the militants have now reduced their attacks. "They have lost the capability to attack the security forces and police," he added.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.