A group of 23 people were detained when they were allegedly approaching line of Control (loC) area in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district with an intention to cross over to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
The group included women and children belonging to families of former militants who availed the State Government’s opportunity to return to their homes under a special rehabilitation scheme for former militants.
A local news agency Current News Service said that 13 Brigade of Indian Army during routine patrolling spotted men, women and children who were trying to exfiltrate to PoK. The guide of the group, Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Kachhama village managed to give slip to Army when the group was encircled, reports said.
“The total number of detained people is 23, including 6 men, 4 women and 13 children. Some of them had come to Kashmir under Rehabilitation Policy a year ago”, report said. Unconfirmed reports said that one of the detained people is brother of JKlF founder Maqbool Bhat who was hanged and secretly buried in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail in February 1984.
The Omar Abdullah government announced rehabilitation policy for former J&K militants living in Pakistan and PoK ensuring them safe return and packages for their rehabilitation. However, the State Government in recent Assembly session admitted that none of the former militants has been rehabilitated under this scheme even as many of them availed the opportunity. The reason for refusing rehabilitation package was that the former militants and their families returned through Nepal and not through the designated points earmarked in the rehabilitation policy.
The former militants and their family members allege that the state Government has reneged its promises forcing them to live in misery.The children and wives of the former militants are confronting citizenship issues while children face problems in securing admissions in educational institutions.