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India to deploy miltary veterans for security in Kashmir
The government of Jammu and Kashmir approved a "proposal for mobilising Ex-Servicemen (ESM) to safeguard vital infrastructure across the Union Territory," according to a government press release.
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AFP - Sat, 17, May 2025
- 12:56 EDT
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Indian security force personnel stand guard near the site of a fighter jet crash in Wuyan in India-administered Kashmir's Pulwama district May 7, 2025. / REUTERS/Sharafat Ali
Military veterans will be redeployed as security guards in Kashmir, New Delhi said on May 17, a week after it reached a ceasefire with Pakistan to end their most serious conflict in decades.
Around 70 people were killed in the violence, which was sparked by an attack on tourists by gunmen in Kashmir last month that New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing -- a charge it denies.
Also Read: Pakistan returns Indian border guard captured after Kashmir attack
The government of Jammu and Kashmir approved a "proposal for mobilising Ex-Servicemen (ESM) to safeguard vital infrastructure across the Union Territory," according to a government press release.
Around 4,000 veterans have been "identified" as non-combatant volunteers, out of which 435 have licensed personal weapons, it said.
This will help by "significantly enhancing the capacity to respond effectively to localised security situations", the government added.
Veterans will work in "static guard" roles, focusing on "presence-based deterrence and local coordination".
India already has an estimated half a million soldiers permanently deployed in the contested region that has been at the heart of several wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who administer separate portions of the divided territory.
Rebels in Jammu and Kashmir have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Fighting had decreased since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government revoked the territory's partial autonomy and imposed direct control from New Delhi.
But last year, thousands of additional troops, including special forces, were deployed across the territory's mountainous south following a series of deadly rebel attacks that had left more than 50 soldiers dead in three years.
A similar veteran volunteer programme took place with 2,500 veterans during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the government.
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