The publication titled Proxy War, which was circulated recently by the northern command headquarters at Udhampur, said that 1,073 mercenaries of 13 countries have been killed and 136 others arrested between 1990 and December 1998.

The mercenaries belonged to Afghanistan, Bahrain, Burma, Bangladesh, Chechenya, Iraq, Iran, Kazkhistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen besides from Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the publication said.Most of the merceneries (400) killed during the period belonged to Pakistan, followed by 190 of Afghanistan, 48 from PoK, five each from Bangladesh and Sudan, two of Turkey, one each of Bahrain, Chechenya, Iraq, Iran, Kazhakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, it added.

The identity of 416 mercenaries killed and six arrested during various operations could not be established. Among the arrested mercenaries,59 belonged to Pakistan, 30 of PoK followed by 24 from Bangladesh, 11 of Afghanistan, five of Burma and one of Kazkhistan.

It also said that 7,776 militants were killed and 24,029 apprehended between 1990 and December last year. Besides, 1823 ultras surrendered during the period. As many as 3,241 civilians and 959 army personnel were also killed during the period, it said. The report said the idea to annex Kashmir through a proxy war was first conceived by Pakistan general Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 under Operation Topac.

Under the plan, a three-pronged strategy was launched to initiate low-level insurgency and subvert the police, financial institutions and communication network and follow this by exerting direct pressure along the Line of Control by large-scale sabotage, infiltration of mercenaries and special forces to attack vital targets.

Religion was meant to be used in a manner to influence some sections of people at an appropriate time under the operation, it said.

ISI, it said, had got tremendousexperience in guerilla warfare and sabotage while working with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against the Russians in Afghanistan till the Soviet Union withdrew from the country in 1987.ISI also got a lot of sophisticated and advanced weapons and equipment and from 1987 to 1989 the country initiated prolonged strikes in Kashmir valley and attacks on political leaders, police and para-military bodies.

Giving brief accounts of the developments since 1990 with the resignation of Farooq Abdullah as Chief Minister of the state up to the holding of elections in 1998, the report said militancy has effectively been contained.This has given a severe blow to the Pakistani design to annex Kashmir through proxy war, it said and added that Islamabad has been inducting more and more Afghan and other mercenaries as the Kashmiris were becoming aware of the Pakistanis' nefarious designs.

Kashmir's economy has also suffered badly and although common folk were being terrorised by the mercenaries, many of them arecoming out in open to say ``enough is enough'', it said.