By Quaid Najmi

Pune, Oct 18 (IANS): Previous Congress-led UPA regime killed the maximum number of terrorists in 10 years compared with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government which succeeded in arresting border terrorism, as per latest data revealed through RTI, here on Tuesday.

The details on the terrorist incident in the country from 2004-2022 - sought by Pune-based businessman Prafful Sarda - were provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, CPIO for Jammu & Kashmir, Kabiraj Sabar.

The statistics say that between 2004 and 2013 (UPA' 10-year rule), there were 9,321 terror strikes with 4,005 terrorists killed and another 878 nabbed.

From 2014 till August 2022 (NDA's eight-and-half years' regime), there were 2,132 terror incidents with 1,538 extremists eliminated and 1,432 arrested.

This totals up to a staggering 11,453 terror strikes, 5,543 terrorists killed and 2,310 extremists arrested in the last 18-and-half years by the Indian Army and other security forces, said Sarda.

The UPA government's annual record figures are: 2004 - 2,565 incidents and 976 killed; 2005 - 1,990 attacks and 917 eliminated; 2006 - 1,667 incidents and 591 eliminated; 2007 - 1,092 attacks and 472 killed; 2008 - 708 incidents, 339 eliminated and 305 arrests; 2009 - 499 attacks, 239 killed and 187 nabbed; 2010 - 368 incidents, 232 eliminated and 155 nabbed; 2011 - 195 attacks, 100 killed and 145 nabbed; 2012 - 124 incidents, 72 eliminated and 150 arrested; 2013 - 113 attacks, 67 killed and 86 nabbed.

The NDA regime's figures revealed year-wise are: 2014 - 151 strikes, 110 killed, 70 nabbed; 2015 - 143 incidents, 108 killed and 67 nabbed; 2016 - 223 strikes, 150 killed and 79 arrested; 2017 - 279 incidents, 213 killed and 97 arrested; 2018 - 417 strikes, 257 killed and 105 nabbed; 2019 - 255 incidents, 157 killed and 115 arrested; 2020 - 244 strikes, 221 killed and 328 arrests; 2021 - 229 incidents, 180 killed and 311 nabbed; and till August 2022 - 191 strikes, 142 killed and 260 nabbed.

Sarda said that the figures - purportedly pertaining to only Jammu & Kashmir region - are shocking and point to how vulnerable the country's western borders are, while the details of the other terror incidents on the northern and north-eastern borders are not provided.

"As per the RTI reply, maximum number of terrorists were killed by the Indian Army and security forces which battled the highest number of terror strikes in the UPA government. After the 'surgical strike', the BJP regime has apparently succeeded in breaking the backbone of terrorism as attacks receded with a sharp drop in the killings," Sarda said.

Pointing to the government's stated "zero tolerance" towards terrorism, the RTI activist wonders at the logic behind 'capturing' extremists - 1,432 compared with the UPA's 878 arrests.

"The armed forces deserve the full credit for their valour at the borders, killing 4,005 in the UPA rule and 1,538 during the NDA tenure. With the fresh targeting of Kashmiri Pandits, the security forces will again remain busy gunning for the terrorists lurking around in the western borders," concluded Sarda.