Kashmir: a simmering, sometimes brutal small war

[davidbfpo]

Via a Twitter account @Minalami for a Jihadism specialist and Editorial Lead/team manager @ BBC Monitoring:

Online accounts affiliated with so-called Islamic State (IS) have shared a video showing a pledge of allegiance to the group made by “mujahidin in Kashmir”, possibly paving the way for an IS declaration of a new branch there.

There are a dozen tweets giving more details.

Also covered in this Israeli online publication:http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/...er-21-27-2017/

[davidbfpo]

Almost a Part Two to the above post; this time from CTC @ West Point and part of the conclusion:

It currently remains to be seen if the ISJK morphs into something larger than an idea or whether it simply remains an online propaganda channel. The likelihood that ISJK inspires a sufficiently large number of young Kashmiris to stimulate an entire new wave of jihad in Jammu and Kashmir seems unlikely, at least in the short term. The real threat lies in ISJK effectively radicalizing Kashmiri youth via its social media campaign and coordinating activity through digital networks, which can give way to heightened terrorism, extreme tactics, and sectarian attacks.

Link:https://ctc.usma.edu/idea-threat-isl...jammu-kashmir/

One must wonder how Pakistan will respond to such a development, given that ISJK is reportedly anti-Pakistani. Would Pakistan encourage, if not direct, the existing Kashmiri groups to violently respond to the new group?

Watch and wait for the likes of us.

[davidbfpo]

Meantime the insurgency continues, not stone-throwing, an armed assault on an army camp last Saturday, with three soldiers killed and families threatened.
Link:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/62868028.cms

[davidbfpo]

An Indian SME commentary that ends with:

The Modi government should listen to professional advice in formulating its Kashmir policy. The results of wrong policies are borne by the security forces, not to mention the Valley public. In August 2016, Northern Army Commander, Lt. General D S Hooda, recommended that “all” including separatists and student protestors should “sit down and see if we can find an end”. Even DGP (J&K), S P Vaid, told a prominent weekly on April 12, 2018 that “talks, including with neighbour Pakistan, was the only solution to Kashmir issue.

Missed from the article due to space was this and provided by the author:

It is the global experience that security forces get demoralized if they are asked to face prolonged insurgency during which they are forced at act against their own citizens.

Link:http://indianexpress.com/article/opi...alley-5153288/

[davidbfpo]

A NYT article reflecting time on the ground, even if clearly much of it with Indian security forces. One small passage, the context being the funeral of a dead militant - the focus of the article:

One woman who identified herself as a separatist leader looked out at the sea of mourners and gravely smiled.“We are winning,” she said. “These bodies are our assets.”

Link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/w...pakistan.html?