Thaindian News

Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir), May 1(ANI): In a landmark move, the Jammu and Kashmir government has said that it is planning to start a policy for the rehabilitation of militants who wish to join the mainstream.

Revealing details on the policy while addressing mediapersons on Sunday, Ashkoor Ahmed Wani, Senior Superintendent of Police in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, said there were 180 youth who had crossed the border with the aim of receiving arms training to fuel insurgency in the region.

Wani added that police department had already received 73 applications from militants who wished to come back.

“According to our records, 180 men have crossed the border with an aim of getting training and they are recorded into our militants list. Till now, we have received 73 applications from militants who wish to return. Also, we had arrested two men who had infiltrated some one and half months ago, but they are not covered into the rehabilitation policy. So, in total, 71 applications are pending,” Wani said.

Wani further mentioned that the authorities were giving final touches to the proposed rehabilitation policy regarding its terms and conditions and how its implementation would be carried out.

Calling the implementation of the policy a ’sensitive issue’, Wani said the militants who wished to return also wanted to bring back their wives and children, complicating the matter.

“It is a very sensitive issue for which all the methods will be applied after lot of mental exercise. We have to see how a person will come and how many people will accompany him because so many people who fled from here got married there with Pakistani girls, so they want to bring their wives and children along with them. So, if the matter was just about the return of militants it would have been much easier,” he said.

The proposed policy has garnered cheer from the families of militants, who have been longing for their return since years.

Visibly excited at the prospect of their kin’s return, several families of militants said they were looking forward to be reunited again.

“He went there and we did not know the reason behind it. We were not even aware when he had left. We came to know about him only when the militancy increased in the state. Till date, we have not met him because he did not give us any of his addresses or contact. We are thankful to the government that they have started a policy for their return. We wish he should return if there is any opportunity,” said Naseem Akhtar, sister of Mohammed Bashir, a militant. (ANI)