10 years since Burhan Wani’s death, how Kashmir’s militancy has changed

4 min readSrinagarUpdated: Jul 8, 2026 02:15 PM IST

Burhan-ud-din Wani, shed anonymity, and chose to broadcast himself and his group on social media. (File Photo)

On July 1, 2015, a picture of 11 Kashmiri youth, dressed in camouflage, carrying Kalashnikov rifles and posing in a forest, appeared on Facebook. At the centre was Burhan-ud-din Wani, who, shedding anonymity, broke from others like him, choosing to broadcast himself and his group on social media and deciding to move through the Valley’s urban areas, particularly south Kashmir.

The images would influence several educated, tech-savvy young men from well-to-do families, opening a new chapter in Kashmir’s fight against insurgency and leading to a crisis not seen since the 1990s.

Exactly 10 years after Burhan Wani’s killing in a military operation in south Kashmir’s Kokernag, that landscape has shifted once more, with every key indicator – from the number of active terrorists to fresh local recruitments for attacks and killings – witnessing a sharp decline. Top-ranking security officials, however, caution that the forces need to stay alert as the situation on the ground remains complex.

On July 1, 2015, a picture of 11 Kashmiri youth, dressed in camouflage, carrying Kalashnikov rifles and posing in a forest, appeared on Facebook. (File Photo)

The numbers are indisputable: In 2016, the year after the photos first emerged, 157 terror operatives were killed in Kashmir. This number peaked at 266 in 2018 and saw another uptick to 230 in 2020. But since then, terrorist killings have steadily decreased, with just 10 recorded so far this year. The number of security forces killed has also declined – from a peak of 94 in 2018 to just one this year. The same goes for civilians – from 88 deaths in 2018 to just one this year.

“As a civilian, you see peace, the dividends of peace – the attacks have declined, killings have fallen, and the number of arrests and FIRs have come down,” said a key anti-insurgency police officer. “But from the perspective of a security officer, the challenge remains.”

On Wednesday, Zakir Ahmad Ganaie, a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, was killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian. He was believed to be one of only two active local terrorists, apart from one Latief, operating in Kashmir. But the number of Pakistani operatives, security officials say, hovers around 30.

The shift – online and offline

Officials say the insurgency landscape has shifted from towns and cities to the dense, mountainous forests of the Valley. On social media, the focus is back on anonymity, with communication sparse and an emphasis on leaving little or no footprint.

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“Even though a large number of operations were always based on HUMINT (human intelligence), the TECHINT (technological intelligence) helped corroborate and pinpoint locations with more precision,” said a senior police officer. “It also helped us understand the evolving dynamics of insurgency and how they operate, communicate and what they were up to.”

Less online chatter has meant security forces have TECHINT to rely on, the officer said.

“As security or intelligence officers, we see the overall security situation has improved, but it has brought a new set of challenges,” said the officer. “There may be fewer terrorists left, but they have gone silent. The insurgency has become more opaque, harder to penetrate, and harder to track.”

Security officials also emphasised that the “Burhan model” was an aberration rather than a sustainable template for insurgency. “He may have used social media to lure a large number of youth, but look at the rate at which they were killed,” said another police officer involved in anti-insurgency operations. “It took them four years to realise that it is unsustainable.”

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Security officials said a key shift has been the takeover of “command and control” by Pakistani operatives. “After 2019, the Hizb (Hizbul Mujahideen) was almost wiped out, and Lashkar took the centrestage. They are highly trained, resilient and well-equipped. They operate from areas with a tactical advantage, such as high-altitude jungles. The command and control has increasingly shifted to these Pakistani operatives of Lashkar,” the police officer said.

Year

Militants killed

Security forces killed

Civilians killed

2016

157

88

56

2017

217

83

54

2018

266

94

88

2019

160

78

42

2020

230

57

37

2021

192

45

36

2022

186

30

30

2023

85

32

11

2024

68

26

32

2025

46

17

28

2026

10

1

1

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter.

Expertise and Experience

Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development.

Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor.

Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans:

Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance.

Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.

Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley.

Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More

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