All nabbed at LoC, being sent to JIC
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 13: Army arrested a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant along with his Pakistani wife and three children as soon as they entered into Indian side from the Line of Control (LoC) in forward village Deri Dabsi of Mendhar sector in Poonch district in early hours of this morning.
Army handed over the militant, his wife and three children to police this evening for registration of a case, questioning and further investigations.
Official sources told the Excelsior that 25 year old Mukhtiar Ahmad son of Manzoor Hussain, a resident of Hari Marhot in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district, who had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 2002 for arms training when he was 15 years old and 6th class student of a Madarsa, reached LoC at 5 am from PoK.
Alert troops observed movement of the militant along with a woman and three children in the house of Mohammad Taj, Village Chowkidar at Deri Dabsi. All of them were taken into custody during which they disclosed their identity and offered to surrender. Army accepted the offer and after preliminary questioning handed over them to local police.
Mukhtiar Ahmed’s family members have been identified as Safia, 24, daughter of Mohammad Rashid, a resident of Chhamb, PoK and their children Mavia Hussain and Mohammad Zabeer, both males of 6 and 3 years of age respectively and seven months daughter Fatima.
Sources said Mukhtiar Ahmad had crossed over to PoK from Mendhar sector in 2002 and became an active militant of the LeT outfit. He reportedly underwent arms training in different camps of PoK and was associated with top commanders of the outfit.
After completion of training, Mukhtiar was reported to have made several attempts to return into this side but failed. It was in the year 2004 that while working in a private shop, he married Safia, a resident of Chhamb, PoK in 2006. He had three children from Safia and was staying with her in a rented accommodation at Kotli for past quite sometime.
Sources said Mukhtiar Ahmed was in touch with his family members back home at Hari Marhot in Surankote. His family had also reportedly applied for his return under Rehabilitation Policy of the State Government.
Mukhtiar’s family had advised him to return to home and surrender.
SSP Poonch Shamsheer Hussain said Mukhtiar and Safia would be sent to the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Jammu for sustained questioning to ascertain their links with the militants both in Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Police have registered a case against the couple for illegal border crossing. Mukhtiar could also be booked under some more Sections if he was found involved in any undesirable activities here prior to exfiltration to PoK.
Sources said Mukhtiar’s questioning could give police vital clues about the activities of the LeT outfit in Pakistan and PoK including number of the militants camping there and getting training including number of Pakistani militants and Jammu and Kashmir ultras, held up there besides the involvement of Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the militant activities.
The spurt in return of militants from Pakistan and PoK to Jammu and Kashmir has picked up in past few days. Forty-one PoK settlers including nine militants of Kashmir, their Pakistani wives and children had returned via Nepal route last month and were captured by SSB in Uttar Pradesh. Later, Kashmir Police shifted them to Srinagar.
In twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, a couple of militants have returned from PoK.
Sources said majority of the militants from Jammu and Kashmir, held in Pakistan and PoK, whose number has officially been put at 3000, wanted to return home but were not getting an opportunity due to surveillance maintained on them by Pakistan Army and ISI.
“It was due to Pakistan that Rehabilitation Policy of Jammu and Kashmir Government, approved by the Union Home Ministry, didn’t succeed as Pakistan was not allowing the militants to return’’, sources said, adding the militants have been returning clandestinely with some of them taking Nepal or Bangladesh route to reach Uttar Pradesh or West Bengal while some others crossing LoC to enter Jammu and Kashmir.
Under the Rehabilitation Policy, the Government has identified four routes to return including Poonch-Rawlakote in Jammu region, Uri-Salamabad in Kashmir, Wagah border in Amritsar and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Srinagar.
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