Women in Kashmir getting involved in terrorism has emerged as a new challenge for security forces that were already busy trying hard to smash the new breed of hybrid terrorists that are attacking soft targets in the valley.
Two women indulging in terror activities have surfaced in the past few days in the north Kashmir that shares with Pakistan occupied J&K (POJK) the Line of Control (LOC) from where trained terrorists infiltrate.
A burqa-clad woman was captured on the CCTV about a fortnight ago while throwing a grenade at a CRPF bunker on a busy road in the Sopore town. Another woman, whom the police identified as Sheema Shafi Waza resident of Tawheedabad Bagh, was allegedly engaged in terrorism as an overground worker (OGW) and was arrested along with a module of six other terror activists on Monday in the Bandipora town of north Kashmir.
According to police, she was tasked by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handlers in Pakistan to provide Wi-Fi hotspot, and accommodation and also ferry terrorists to the earmarked destination after they infiltrated through the LOC.
The Sopore police had arrested the woman Hasina Akhtar who fled from the spot after tossing a petrol bomb at a security bunker. The woman belonging to Baramulla in north Kashmir had covered her face with a burqa. After her arrest, the police found that three FIRs under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) had already stood slapped against her. She was reportedly motivated by top woman separatist and pro-Pakistan Asiya Andrabi who is in jail for a terror funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A woman OGW travelling from the northern district of Baramulla towards Srinagar was nabbed by security forces at a check-post near Lawaypora a few months ago with at least 20 grenades and a cache of ammunition that she was transporting for being delivered to terrorists.
Security agencies some time ago arrested another woman who was accused of luring youths into the terror ranks of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) through her Facebook account.
Women OGWs is considered a safe camouflage for dodging security forces and ferrying terrorists across Kashmir. Women OGWs were also under the radar of security agencies in the border villages for helping terrorists after they infiltrate through LOC. Caches of arms and ammunition have been recovered by the Army troops, BSF, and police in several cases along the LOC.
Security forces have launched a massive exercise to track down women OGWs and hybrid terrorists after a string of innocent killings in the Kashmir valley. Moreover, such elements could prove dangerous in view of the upcoming Amarnath pilgrimage that will bring thousands of people to Kashmir from across the country. Several OGWs have been arrested in various parts of the valley in the past few days.