March 13, 2002

   The Chief of Army Staff during his press briefing on January 11 this year on the eve of Army Day had stated that the number of foreign terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir had gone up over the years. It is assessed that about 2500 to 3000 terrorists are presently operating in Jammu and Kashmir, of which about 60 to 70 % are foreign nationals.

    As per the available information upto the year 2000, the number of foreign nationals over staying and illegally staying in the country are 52987 and 41461 respectively.

    This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri George Fernandes in a written reply to Smt Gurcharan Kaur in Rajya Sabha today.