KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Abdul Gani who had crossed over to Pakistan 15 years ago was arrested by Poonch police after he crossed into India via Nepal route along with his family members.
Police say Gani underwent training with different militant organisations in Pakistan.
“He had joined Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit in 2004, followed by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in 2009,” claim police. “He was involved in many militant operations with both the organisations.”
“Our security grid was in place to arrest them as we knew how they were coming,” said Sub-divisional police officer SH Rafiq Tantrey (Poonch). “We intercepted and arrested them.”
The militant with his family, said Tantrey, has been kept under police custody with cases registered under various sections.
Notably, the previous dispensation in 2009 announced a policy for return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri youths who had crossed over to Pakistan or PaK through the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training to become militants.
“Up to Feb 15, 2013, 241 ex-militants returned illegally via Nepal and other routes along with their family members,” the former chief minister Omar Abdullah had said, adding that not a single militant returned through identified routes—“Therefore, they aren’t eligible for any rehabilitation.”
The identified routes for the Pak returnee were including Wagah border, PCP, Attari or through Salamabad or Chakandabagh or through the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
Omar had also admitted that his govt had received “1,089 applications on behalf of the ex-militants out of which 191 cases have been recommended for return”.
However, the former CM had admitted at the fag-end of his official term that at least “3,974 militants are still living in the PaK and other parts of Pakistan”.
