The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Union Territory Government of Jammu and Kashmir are likely to come up with ‘Rehabilitation Policy’ for local militants operating in the UT soon to win over them and Over Ground Workers (OGWs).
While framing broad contours of the Rehabilitation Policy, the Central Government has taken top brass of Army, other security forces, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Intelligence agencies besides all other stakeholders on board to incorporate their opinion,primary focus of the policy is on the rehabilitation front so that the militants who return to the mainstream live a secure and happy life. The policy entails amnesty from prosecution for local militants who surrender and if a surrendered militant gets a job, he wouldn’t be disqualified because of his past,” sources said.
First surrender policy in Jammu and Kashmir was introduced in 1995, when militancy was at its peak. It promised a fixed deposit of Rs 1.5 lakh, monthly stipend of Rs 1,800 and some vocational training for the militants who surrendered.
In 2004, a new Rehabilitation Policy was approved which was applicable to “known militants who surrender with weapons” and “dreaded militants even without weapons”. It also promised a fixed deposit of Rs 1.5 lakh, monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 and some vocational training.
In 2010, another policy was announced for Kashmiri militants who had gone to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) for arms training between 1989 and 2009 and wanted to return.
However, this policy had fixed designated routes for return of the militants from PoK including Poonch-Rawlakote, Uri-Muzaffarabad, Wagah border and Indira Gandhi International Airport. While the militants didn’t take these routes, a number of them returned from Nepal-Uttar Pradesh and Nepal-Bihar route, some of them with their families, and were allowed to reach Jammu and Kashmir.
