Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: The Government has decided not to extend benefits of Rehabilitation Policy to former militants and other citizens of Jammu and Kashmir returning from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) through Nepal or Dhaka routes on the ground that they didn’t fall under the categories prescribed in the Policy.
Police authorities have, meanwhile, decided to put all the returnees under “strict surveillance category’’ as they anticipated that some “wrong elements’’ could also take advantage of the former militants and other people returning through illegal border crossing taking Nepal and Dhaka routes to enter India.
Official sources told the Excelsior that so far about 125 former militants and other people of Jammu and Kashmir, who had crossed over to Pakistan and PoK during past two decades, have so far returned to their houses but none of them would fall in the Rehabilitation Policy as they took routes, which didn’t fall under the Policy.
Four routes prescribed under the Policy included Poonch-Rawlakote in Jammu region, Uri-Muzaffarabad in Kashmir region, Wagah border in Amritsar district and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi.
However, according to sources, about 125 former militants and other persons, who have come back from Pakistan and PoK after the announcement of Rehabilitation Policy, have taken Nepal and Dhaka routes to enter India on way to Jammu and Kashmir.
These former militants and other civilians had flown from Islamabad or Karachi to Nepal in Kathmandu or Dhaka in Bangladesh and then intruded into India. While those flying to Nepal reached Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, the former militants taking Dhaka route entered West Bengal and then headed towards Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the Government has issued directions to the administration—both civil and police—that former militants and other civilians, who have reached the State from Pakistan or PoK through the routes other than those prescribed, wouldn’t be covered under the Rehabilitation Policy.
Under the Policy, the former militants should come only through prescribed routes. After their return, they had to be kept in the camps for couple of months for questioning and reformation and then the Government had to rehabilitate them as per their qualification and skills.
Further, only those persons would have come under the purview of Rehabilitation Policy against whom no major offence was pending in the courts or the police stations.
Sources said though the former militants and other people, who have so far returned from Pakistan and PoK, didn’t have major cases pending against them, still they were being kept under “strict surveillance category’’ after their release on bail from the court as police authorities anticipated that some of them could be re-cycled into militancy.
“There were also apprehensions among police and Intelligence agencies that some ‘wrong elements’ could also enter into Jammu and Kashmir from Kathmandu or Dhaka routes’’, sources said, adding it was in this context that strict vigil was being maintained on all returnees even after their bail from the courts.
Sources said the former militants against whom no case was pending in the State or the country was only being charged with illegal border crossing to Pakistan or PoK about two decades back in which they get bail from the courts.
A couple of days ago, Banihal police in Ramban district had arrested 10 persons including a former militant and three Special Police Officers (SPOs). The militant along with three others had returned from Pakistan via Nepal route.
Sources said the overall principles of the Rehabilitation Policy were being followed in case of returned militants and other civilians by allowing them to lead peaceful and normal life but the benefits of the Policy would elude them as they hadn’t taken the four prescribed routes.
Sources, however, admitted that it was not possible for the militants stranded in Pakistan or PoK to return through the prescribed routes in view of heavy presence of Army, other security and Intelligence agencies besides the civil administration of Pakistan on all the four routes.
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