Srinagar: The number of local youths joining terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir has fallen dramatically over the past five years, dropping from 146 in 2021 to just one in 2025, according to a Ministry of Defence report.
The data showed that 121 local youths were recruited into terror networks in 2022. The number fell further to 19 in 2023, four in 2024 and one in 2025.
The ministry said the figures indicated that young people in the Union territory were increasingly rejecting violence and benefiting from government welfare schemes and development policies, as reported by The New Indian Express.
It also said the sharp decline in local recruitment challenged Pakistan’s claim that terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was largely home-grown. The report attributed the broader improvement in the security environment to measures taken after the reading down of Article 370, noting a substantial fall in both terrorist violence and recruitment.
Fewer Infiltration Attempts
The Line of Control has also witnessed a marked reduction in infiltration, the ministry said. Security forces foiled six such attempts in 2025 and killed 12 terrorists.
The report recorded eight infiltration attempts and 12 terrorist deaths in 2021. The corresponding figures were 12 and 18 in 2022, 18 and 36 in 2023, and 10 and 19 in 2024.
However, it cautioned that the decline along the LoC did not mean that infiltration had stopped. Terrorist attempts had increasingly shifted towards the International Border in the Jammu region. Some of these operations were also linked to efforts to smuggle narcotics.
Counter-terror operations continued across the hinterland, the report said. Security forces killed 19 terrorists in 2025, including eight Pakistani terrorists. Their share was nearly 40% of the total, which the ministry said pointed to Pakistan’s continued involvement in the proxy conflict in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ceasefire Violations Rise
The report noted a sharp rise in ceasefire violations despite the fall in infiltration. There were 163 violations along the LoC in 2025, including 124 during Operation Sindoor, compared with only two in 2024.
Ministry data showed 3,233 violations in 2019, 4,645 in 2020, 594 in 2021, one in 2022, none in 2023, two in 2024 and 163 in 2025.
The report also said no stone-pelting incidents were recorded in the Union territory during 2025. Tourism continued to withstand security challenges, with Jammu and Kashmir receiving around 23 million visitors despite the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 25 tourists and a local ponywala.