TIA News /

Police stand guard outside Maisuma during a strike called by separatists to protest proposed ‘composite townships’ for migrant Kashmiri Pandits. Mubashir Khan/GK

A top commander of Indian Army has that “alienation and lack of opportunities” are driving Kashmiri youngsters towards the gun. He urged the Centre and the state government to introspect to address the issue before it is too late.

“The numbers (of new militant recruits from Kashmir) are not very high as of now but if this trend goes further I think it will be tragic for Kashmir and also a matter of concern,” said General Officer Commanding In Chief (GoC-In-C), Northern Command, Lt Gen D S Hooda in an interview to a news agency.

On questions on recruitment of educated local youths in outfits and the reason behind this trend which had not seen in past several years, He said “What we have is that last year, the figure was somewhere 60 (operating in militants outfits in Kashmir Valley) or little more than that.

“So as I said that the numbers are not too many, but the fact remains that it was down to single digit during two or three years. In that sense it is something that we need to look at seriously,” he said.