Pubdate: Tue, 23 May 2000 Source: Times of India, The (India) Copyright: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2000 Contact: http://www.timesofindia.com/ Author: Bisheshwar Mishra HEROIN IS NEW WEAPON OF MILITANCY IN J-K BARAMULLA: Foreign mercenaries and young militants infiltrating into the Kashmir Valley from across the border are being armed, besides the sophisticated weapons, with a more lethal contraband: heroin. "Of late, in addition to AK-47 and UMGs, militants are now carrying heroin in polythene bags, with the stamp of Afghanistan on it," said Baramulla range DIG Dilbag Singh. He said a number of foreign mercenaries and Pakistan trained militants have been caught in Kupwara and Baramulla areas carrying heroin. "In Kupwara alone, four kg of heroin were recovered from militants last month." Dilbag Singh said, adding over the past three months several bags of heroin besides sophisticated weapons were recovered during encounters with militants trying to slip into India. Giving details of encounters, the DIG said in Karna sector six of a group of 15 boys trying to cross over from Pakistan were killed; in Rasiabad 12 Pakistan trained militants belonging to Albadar militant outfit were killed; In Naugawar sector, five young militants were captured and one was killed. Besides weapons, large quantities of heroin were recovered from them, Dilbag Singh said. According to security officials, between 150 to 175 young boys trained in Pakistan are suspected to have crossed over into India till now this year. More infiltrations are expected this summer as, officials say, "the ISI is hell bent on proving to the world that unrest in Kashmir is still on." "With support to militancy turning lukewarm in the Valley, the ISI guided militants are trying to lure the local youth with heroin and drugs. Earlier, couriers and peddlers were utilised for heroin smuggling but now young militants are being used for the purpose after they are first turned into addicts," a senior police official said. However, home ministry special secretary (Kashmir affairs) T R Kakkar, after a week-end, two-day tour to review the situation, said in his assessment the Valley was returning to near-normalcy. "My feedback is that people in the Valley are consciously trying to keep away from the militants. They have not yet shown their backs to them (militants) but have stopped welcoming them," Kakkar told the Times of India after meeting several senior police officials and local people, including traders and businessmen, of Baramulla and Kupwara districts. To prove his point he quoted sub-division police officer (SDPO) Qadis Khan as reporting that some 10,000 people, including school children, taking to streets and angrily protesting after militants killed a woman, her son and two daughters in Sopore last Monday. This, Kakkar said, showed that local Kashmiris were getting sick of terrorism and senseless killings. However, Kakkar did not rule out militants staging violent incidents or adopting newer techniques like luring people into their game-plan through use of heroin and other drugs. This, then, explains the large haul of heroin from the infiltrating militants. - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson