Sixty-two militants have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir between January and April, The Indian Express reported on Sunday, citing data from the police. Last year, 37 militants were killed in the same period.

Notably, 15 out of the 62 militants belonged to Pakistan, while the remaining 47 were from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2021, from the 168 militants killed, 20 came from other countries.

The success of the police force can be credited to good human intelligence and focused operations, Inspector General Vijay told The Indian Express.

“The consequence is that the survival rate of terrorists is drastically reducing,” Kumar said. “Of the 62 terrorists killed this year, 32 were killed within just three months of joining militancy.”

Security forces have been regularly conducting military operations against suspected militants across Jammu and Kashmir. Several top commanders associated with banned outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad have been killed in gunfights, according to Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The number of militants killed in 2021 was less due to the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, an unidentified officer told The Indian Express.

The Financial Action Task Force’s scrutiny of Pakistan could also be the reasons behind reduced militant activity, the unidentified officer added.

Afghanistan’s takeover by the Taliban in August reduced Financial Action Task Force’s pressure on Islamabad as it “regained its geopolitical importance for the West”, the officer said.

“This has given some elbow room to Pakistan to once again begin to foment trouble in the Valley,” the officer told The Indian Express. “They have been pushing terrorists in the Valley since mid-2021.”

Over Rs 9,000 crore spent on security

Home ministry data showed that Rs 9,120 crore has been spent on security in Jammu and Kashmir, since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, The Kashmir Observer reported.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre had revoked the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. The erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The money was provided to the Jammu and Kashmir administration under the Security Related Expenditure (Police) scheme “to strengthen the security apparatus”.

The home ministry had also approved the recruitment of five India reserve battalions, two border battalions and two women battalions for the Union Territory, according to The Kashmir Observer.