J&K to rehabilitate ultras from Pakistan occupied Kashmir

The J&K government has begun the process of identifying entry points along the Line of Control (LoC) to facilitate the return of militants who wish to return to the valley and lead a normal life.

“The proposal is being fine-tuned. They [state and Centre] are in discussion. The policy will be announced once all the formalities are completed,” chief minister Omar Abdullah said. 

At present, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot routes are operational for those who want to meet their near and dear ones on both sides of the LoC. However, only members of divided families are allowed to travel by the trans-LoC bus service —Karavan-e-Aman — on these routes, but they have to have a valid permit.

The government had announced a “surrender policy” in February which was later renamed “rehabilitation policy”. Under this policy, the government also included those families, who had fled across the LoC when militancy was at its peak and now want to return.
The J&K government has already started the process of gathering details about the actual number of people stranded in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“We are working on the policy’s modalities. As far as data on the number of migrants is concerned, we need the other side of LoC to cooperate and help us get the exact details,” MoS for tourism Nasir Aslam Wani said.

The new policy has drawn sharp criticism from the BJP, which has threatened to launch an agitation if the government goes ahead with the rehabilitation plan.

“There’s no point in rehabilitating those who went [to PoK] for arms training. No one knows who will return and with what intentions. If the government goes ahead [with the rehabilitation plan], we will chalk out a programme to oppose this,” state BJP chief Shamsher Singh Manhas said.