Recruitment of youth into terrorism in Kashmir is a big concern for the Indian Army

Srinagar, Oct 17 : The recruitment of local youth into terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is a big concern for the Indian Army. This year, 131 youth in all have joined militancy in the Valley so far. Last year, 117 youth had joined terrorism.

"Recruitment of local youth into terrorism is a big concern. I can't point my finger at just one reason why recruitment is taking place. But I don't see any major pattern in it," said 15 Corps General Officer Commanding Lieutenant General B.S. Raju.

He said that they hope to reach out in a manner where there could be little reason for the youth to take up arms. "There are large numbers of components which play a part in it. We will do our part to ensure we don't become a cause for anybody to cross the line," Lieutenant General B.S. Raju said.

"It is a complex issue. It is definitely on our radar and that will remain an important line of action to stop recruitment," he said.

Out of a total of 131 local youth recruitment into terrorism, 24 happened in North Kashmir and 107 in South Kashmir.

In North Kashmir, 18 youth joined Lashkar-e-Taiba, one joined Hizbul Mujahideen, four Jaish-e-Mohammed and one Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir

( With inputs from IANS )