NEW DELHI: As many as 733 terrorists have been neutralised in Jammu & Kashmir in the past three-and-a-half years, including 113 until June 16 this year.

In written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for home G Kishan Reddy said while killings of terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir have steadily gone up from 150 in 2016 to 213 in 2017 and 257 in 2018, civilians killed in terror-related incidents rose from 15 in 2015 to 40 in 2017, and stayed constant at 39 in 2018. Until June 16 this year, 18 civilian killings were reported from the Valley.

The policy to engage terrorists in intelligence-based encounters in the Valley is expected to continue under home minister Amit Shah . Shah will be paying his first visit to the state starting Wednesday. During his two-day stay, he will hold talks with governor Satya Pal Malik , attend the Unified Headquarters meeting and also review security arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra that begins on July 1.

Shah's visit comes in the backdrop of Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq indicating willingness for talks and Malik terming it as an "encouraging sign".

Meanwhile, in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Reddy, while responding to a question, informed that violent incidents in Jammu & Kashmir had peaked at 614 in 2018, an 80 per cent rise over 342 incidents reported in 2017. Civilians killed stood at 40 in 2018, up from 39 in 2017, while fatalities among security personnel totalled 91 last year, up from 80 in 2017. In comparison, there were 222 incidents in Jammu & Kashmir in 2014, which killed 28 civilians and 47 security personnel. While the figures fell in 2015, they rose prominently in 2016 on account of cycle of violence triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in July 2016.

In comparison, the situation in Left-wing extremism-hit states has shown considerable improvement over the last five years. Between the period 2009-2013, when UPA was in power, and 2014-2018 under NDA regime, incidents of Naxalite violence fell by 43.4 per cent, civilian deaths by 59.1 per cent and security personnel fatalities by 63.6 per cent. The killing of Maoists however went up 10.5 per cent over the corresponding period.

Interestingly, Left-wing extremism-related violence was reported from only 60 districts across 8 states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana - last year, even though Centre had classified 90 districts as Naxal-affected and offering them financial support. Two-thirds of violent incidents in 2018 were reported from 10 districts.

As for influence of Islamic State on Indian youth, Reddy in reply to yet another written question said NIA and state police had arrested 155 accused from across the country in cases relating to IS members and sympathisers.

