Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 1: As 58 persons including 14 militants, or former militants, along with their Pakistani wives and children reached Jammu and Kashmir from Nepal border during past about one month after spending more than two decades or even more in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), the Intelligence agencies were worried a lot as some of them could become potential threat to peace and normalcy in the State later.
However, the Intelligence agencies were not in a position to do much in view of the Government policy to rehabilitate the youths returning from Pakistan and PoK after giving up the path of militancy. All 58 persons, who have returned in the past one month, included former militants, their Pakistani wives and children, all of whom have reached Jammu and Kashmir after infiltration from Nepal border.
Official sources told the Excelsior that this was for the first time since the announcement of Rehabilitation Policy by the State Government in 2010 that 58 persons including 14 former militants of different outfits have reached Kashmir from Nepal route in less than a month. A total of four groups have crossed from Nauntawan in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh along Nepal border last month, they said.
As Rehabilitation Policy of J&K Government had the nod of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the para-military Seema Shastra Bal (SSB), deployed along Nepal border only detain the infiltrators and then hand over them to Special Cell of Jammu and Kashmir Police after brief questioning. The JKP takes them to Srinagar, where a case is registered against them. Majority of them have been bailed out by different courts.
The last batch to infiltrate from Nauntawan, which carried Pakistani passports included 11 persons, four of them former militants, identified as Ghulam Nabi Kabow, a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen hailing from Arampora, Sopore, his Pakistani wife Shazia Begum and two children Atia and Adil, Nizam-ud-Din, a militant of Jaish-e-Mohammad, hailing from Bandipora (who came without any Pakistani citizen), Salam-ud-Din, another militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, hailing from Bandipora and his wife Hakoom Bibi, Munir Ahmed, a militant of Jaish, who also hailed from Bandipora, his Pakistani wife Maneeza Begum and two children Muneeb and Haseeb.
Sources said all four militants, or former militants, had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Kupwara sector of the Kashmir Valley between 1990 to 1995 and underwent training in handling of arms and explosives in PoK capital city of Muzaffarabad for a couple of years. However, like many others, they were also held up in PoK and started working there and solemnized marriages.
Sources said this group of 11 persons including four militants had also taken the aerial route from Karachi in Pakistan to Kathmandu in Nepal before entering into Indian side from Gorakhpur border, where they were detained and handed over to Special Cell of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Prior to this, three groups of 47 persons had infiltrated from the same rout. With this, a total number of 58 persons including former militants and their family members have reached Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan and PoK using Nepal route this month.
However, none of the militants and their family members have taken the legal route identified by the Government in the Rehabilitation Policy.
The approved routes included Poonch-Rawlakote in Jammu region, Uri-Muzaffarabad in Kashmir, Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
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