Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 27: Shastra Seema Bal (SSB) last night arrested two top Kashmiri militants, a woman and seven children, at Sonauli border on Uttar Pradesh-Nepal boundary when they crossed over to the Indian territory and were planning to proceed towards Jammu and Kashmir. All of them presently hailed from Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Reports available with Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) and CID (Counter Intelligence Cell) revealed that the SSB nabbed all 10 persons soon after they entered into Sonauli border in Uttar Pradesh from Nepal last night. On being quizzed, they failed to produce any valid documents to the SSB and were detained and subjected to questioning during which they disclosed their identity.
The militants Mohammad Abid and Mohammad Rashid Malik, hailing from border district of Kupwara in the Kashmir Valley, had exfiltrated to PoK in nineties for arms training. They were affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
Official sources said SSB Commandant at Sonauli B K Bankhoti contacted JKP’s CID Cell in New Delhi and informed them about detention of two Kashmiri militants with their PoK wife and seven children along Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border. The CID Cell team reached Nepal border this afternoon.
Sources said a joint team of SSB and CID Cell of JKP was in the process of shifting the militants and their family members to New Delhi by road. All of them were likely to reach New Delhi from where they would be taken to Kashmir for registration of First Information Report (FIR) and further investigations.
Sources said both the militants after undergoing arms training and remaining active in militancy for five to seven years had married two local girls of Muzaffarabad in PoK and settled with them. They had been engaged in manual work to run their livelihood. One of the militants had four children from his wife while the other had three.
While the wife of Abid accompanied him from Muzaffarabad, the spouse of Malik didn’t join him but send the children with him.
Sources said the militants, the PoK wife of one of them and seven children, had managed fake visa and passport with the help of some agents in Karachi, the port city of Pakistan. They had reached Karachi from Muzaffarabad and boarded Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight to reach Kathmandu from where they headed towards Uttar Pradesh and were detained at Sonauli border.
The militants were reported to have disclosed that they wanted to avail the benefits of Rehabilitation Policy of Jammu and Kashmir. Police here said they were yet to ascertain whether the arrested militants figured in the list of terrorists, who had applied for their return from Pakistan and PoK under Rehabilitation Policy.
However, the militants had to return from four prescribed routes to avail benefits of the Rehabilitation Policy. The Nepal-Uttar Pradesh route didn’t figure in the four routes, which included Poonch-Rawlakote in Jammu region, Uri-Muzaffarabad in Kashmir region, Wagah border in Punjab and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi.
Out of about 300 people including the militants, who had returned from Pakistan and PoK to Jammu and Kashmir after the announcement of Rehabilitation Policy, none had taken four prescribed routes. Almost all of them have returned from Uttar Pradesh-Nepal and Bihar-Nepal borders after reaching Kathmandu from Karachi by air. All of them had undertaken air journey from Karachi to Kathmandu on fake visas and passports, sources said.
Admitting that some of the Kashmiri militants might have been returning with tacit support of militant commander or Pakistan Army to be used to at an opportune time, sources said the Intelligence agencies have already cautioned that there was a need to keep strict vigil on the returnees, who could become potential security threat.
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