New Delhi: Among the 300 residents of Jammu & Kashmir who travelled to Pakistan on valid travel documents since 2016, more than 40 ended up joining terror outfits, ThePrint has learnt. They received training in Pakistan and then infiltrated back into India illegally through the Line of Control (LoC), to actively participate in carrying out terror attacks against civilians and security forces in the region, sources in the security establishment said.
The same was the case with Adil Thoker, a prime suspect in last week’s terror attack in Pahalgam in which 25 tourists and one local was killed. He had travelled to Pakistan on an Indian passport in April 2018 on the pretext of attending an examination, sources said.
“He travelled to Pakistan via the Attari border and joined the banned terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. He is believed to have returned with other terrorists in 2024, after which he had not just been providing logistical support to foreign terrorists who came with him, but leading them,” a source told ThePrint.
According to the sources, after 2014, Pakistan-backed agencies evolved their tactics to recruit radicalised Kashmiri youth into terror organisations by asking them to get “valid travel documents” and travel to Pakistan on the pretext of reasons such as for an exam or business.
A second source explained that this strategy helped circumvent the risks and logistical challenges associated with illegal crossings of the LoC and also provided the individuals with the freedom to move around, as they possessed legal documentation permitting their stay in Pakistan.
“Having a valid travel document proved beneficial for these organisations which roped in youngsters from Kashmir. This soon became their modus operandi. These, of course, were people who did not have any past criminal record or were not on the radar of agencies or had valid documents from before,” the source said.
According to data available with the security agencies, at least 15 people were killed in different encounters on their return to J&K and more than 10 are confirmed to be “active terrorists” in the valley.
“While some returned to the valley and are active here, some of them stayed back in Pakistan and joined separatist groups, helping support terrorist activities in J&K by spreading secessionist narratives and fuelling unrest,” the second source said.
“These are the people who know Kashmir well and are now assisting in tapping youngsters for more recruitment.”
The source, however, acknowledged that the recruitment of youngsters took a hit in the past year.
Explaining the recruitment by Pakistan-based agencies, the source quoted above said local Kashmiris such as Thoker were first identified in J&K, radicalised through online propaganda and put in touch with local networks who further brainwashed them into going for training in Pakistan.
“The individuals who were highly motivated, capable of handling weapons effectively, and resilient were then selected for training in Pakistan. The handlers ensured that only those they deemed the best were recruited. We have observed that these local recruits are as ruthless and hardcore as the Pakistani terrorists who infiltrate to carry out attacks, unlike earlier, when they were often seen as timid,” the source said.
Thoker, 33, hails from Bijbehara subdivision of J&K’s Anantnag district. He completed BA studies from Government Degree College Anantnag and post-graduation in Urdu from Rehmat E Alam College of Education in Anantnag in 2018. He then worked as a private teacher at MMI School in Shamsipora for two years.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)