IS HOMEGROWN MILITANCY IN RETREAT?

Hizbul Mujahideen, the separatist militant outfit active in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989, may be in terminal retreat. The past five months have seen a decimation in their numbers, with the J&K police claiming that of the 94 militants taken out by the security forces during this period, as many as 51 were from the Hizb alone. The week to June 14 was the bloodiest, claiming 19 Hizb men in five encounters in southern Kashmir. The strikes in Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama, considered the epicentres of homegrown militancy, have shaken the three-decades-old outfit to the core. “The security forces are on top and the (militant outfits) are on the run,” says Zulfiqar Hassan, additional director