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Investor Presentaiton

Raising the Stakes in Jammu and Kashmir Crisis Group Asia Report N°310, 5 August 2020 Page 17 ple walk miles on their own to reach such encounter sites and make every possible effort to help the militants escape as they confront the security forces with stones". 97 Widespread popular support for militancy plays into the hands of Pakistan-based outfits, which can easily exploit both the stalemate in the political process and grow- ing anti-India sentiment to recruit more easily and step up their operations. Moreover, the lines between homegrown groups and Pakistan-based jihadist out- fits are increasingly blurred. As a well-informed observer in southern Kashmir noted, "there now appears to be more cooperation and coordination, particularly between Hizbul Mujahideen and Laskhar-e-Tayyaba”.98 On 5 February 2020, a chance en- counter between security forces and three militants at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Srinagar also pointed to such collaboration: the police claimed one of the militants killed belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen, the second to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and the third, who was arrested, to a local Islamic State branch.99 100 101 Since 5 August, a new outfit called The Resistance Front has emerged - the first not to adopt a religious name since the JKLF thirty years ago.¹ The group, which first appeared in October 2019, claimed several high-profile attacks resulting in the death of at least sixteen security personnel in the span of a month in April-May 2020. The Front also has a strong digital presence, using various platforms to claim opera- tions and disseminate its propaganda, with social media posts using elaborate graphics and photographs to commemorate its operations and warn of more violence to come." Some senior police officers say The Resistance Front is either a shadow outfit of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba or an umbrella name for various Pakistan proxies, adopted in the wake of mounting global pressure on Pakistan to comply with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations to stop supporting terrorist groups. 102 Members arrested in March said that they had received instructions on Telegram from a handler in Pakistan, while five more militants were killed on 5 April as they were infiltrating across the Line of Control.103 Jammu and Kashmir's inspector general of police also identified a militant killed in an encounter claimed by the Front on 2 May as a known Lashkar commander. 104 "It seems most of these groups are working together and 97 Crisis Group interview, Srinagar, May 2019. Also "Kashmiri teenagers are dying to protect mili- tants", The New York Times, 18 December 2018. 98 Crisis Group interview, Shopian district, May 2019. 100 99 "Death of a top separatist leader's son: game changer in Valley?", The Quint, 20 May 2020. Police officers claim that Pakistan has formed two other new groups, Tehreek-i-Millat Islami and the Jammu and Kashmir Fighters Front, but so far these have kept a low profile. "J&K militancy suf- fers significant losses as security forces amp operations amidst lockdown", The Wire, 20 June 2020. 101 "The Resistance Front: new terrorist group in Jammu and Kashmir amplifies attacks on social media", Atlantic Council, 16 July 2020. 102 Crisis Group interviews, police and intelligence officers, southern, northern and central Kashmir, May-July 2020. "The Resistance Front: New name of terror groups in Kashmir", Economic Times, 29 April 2020. 103 "Major terror module of Lashkar's new front busted in Kashmir", New Indian Express, 23 March 2020; "Keran encounter: does it signal a new phase of Kashmir militancy", Kashmir Observer, 11 April 2020. 104 "Top LeT commander Haider killed in Handwara encounter", ANI, 3 May 2020; "J&K police verifying claim that 2 militants killed in Handwara are residents of Valley", The Print, 4 May 2020.
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