Lok Sabha elections 2019: Given ‘raw deal’, surrendered J&K militant feels cheated

Malik, 49, is sore over what he calls a “raw deal” given to him and other militants who surrendered. He claims that surrender-cum-rehabilitation policies of successive regimes in Jammu and Kashmir are “cruel joke” on them.

Almost 20 years after he laid down arms, Abdul Munaf Malik, a former ‘commander’ of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, is a disillusioned man. He says many other militants like him, who shunned violence to join the national mainstream, are also feeling cheated.

The former militant commander claims he survived over a dozen encounters and escaped several cordons during that period. (HT Photo)

Malik, 49, is sore over what he calls a “raw deal” given to him and other militants who surrendered. He claims that surrender-cum-rehabilitation policies of successive regimes in Jammu and Kashmir are “cruel joke” on them.

“I remained a militant from 1994 to 1999, initially as the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and then as divisional commander of Tehreek-ul-Jihad for Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur districts,” he says.

Malik says he had undergone an 11-month training at Kotli in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Manshera district in the eastern part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province before heading to Afghanistan to become a “hardened” guerrilla fighter.

The former militant commander claims he survived over a dozen encounters and escaped several cordons during that period.

Malik, who was also known as ‘Inqualabi’ and ‘Aslam Malik’, says as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen he headed a team of 39 militants. “Some of them were eliminated in encounters and some others escaped to Pakistan. Seven to eight others were convinced by me to surrender,” he says.

“After being persuaded by my mother to quit militancy, I surrendered before then senior superintendent of police (SSP), Rajouri, Hemant Kumar Lohia in April 1999. Thereafter, I worked for almost eight years as a special police officer,” he says. “As a special police officer, I helped security forces in eliminating over 40 insurgents. But my services were terminated on September 17, 2008 after some local politicians, jealous

of my work, connived against me,” he adds.

The former militant, who contested panchayat polls in 2011 but lost by a narrow margin of just six votes, says the reason behind rise of militancy in Kashmir was not jihad. “Kaun sa jihad? Yeh sab kali matti aur lal seb ke liye hai. (Which jihad? Militancy is being fuelled for control of natural resources in Kashmir),” he says.

Malik says he had to pay a heavy price for his decision to quit militancy.

“Infuriated over my decision, militants torched my house and those of my father and brother at Topa village in Rajouri district. They broke legs of my younger brother Abdul Qauf with a hammer. Today, he cannot move an inch without crutches. My sister

was also beaten up,” he says.

“My daughter, who has done B Sc in nursing, and my son, an M Sc degree holder, are today called names by people. Where will I marry off my daughter? Whenever any police verification is required, they specifically mention surrendered militant on papers,” he says.

Malik says ₹18,000 is all that he received for returning to the mainstream.

“I didn’t get a fixed deposit certificate for ₹1.50 lakh, monthly stipend of ₹2,000 and any vocational training, as promised,” he rues.

“Even today, we feel like sitting ducks for militants. We don’t have any security or weapon. I am working as a small time contractor to eke out a living for my family,” he says.

“Frustration has reached to such a level that sometimes I feel like picking up the gun again. I want to make a passionate appeal to governor Satya Pal Malik to give me an opportunity to meet him so that I can narrate him what exactly has been done with surrendered militants over the years,” he says.

Advisor to governor K Vijay Kumar, who headed the special task force that was involved in the elimination of dacoit Veerappan in Tamil Nadu, says: “The new surrender policy is yet to take a final shape. The governor has asked for some more clarifications. I hope we will be able to make some progress in two to three weeks.”

Kumar adds: “The surrender policy has already been there in various formats and the governor has asked us to have a look at it and put up a draft.”

“WORKABLE” REHAB POLICY NEEDED

Some political leaders in Kashmir have suggested formulation of a “workable” rehabilitation policy instead of killing militants.

“If we go by records of past three years, the number of youths joining terror outfits has not come down despite elimination of hundreds of militants. We have suggested to the government to formulate a policy which will be more acceptable and workable than past schemes. The previous surrender policies failed as government did show keep its promise.

The militants who shunned the path of violence and returned from PoK are leading miserable lives,” one of the leaders said.

SURRENDER POLICIES IN J&K

The first surrender policy, introduced in 1995, promised a fixed deposit of ₹1.5 lakh, monthly stipend of ₹1,800 and some vocational training.

In 2004, a new rehab policy was approved.

This policy was applicable to “known militants who surrender with weapons” and “dreaded militants even without weapons”. It also promised a fixed deposit of ₹1.5 lakh, monthly stipend of ₹2,000 and some vocational training.

In 2010, another policy was announced. It was for Kashmiri militants who had gone to PoK for training between 1989 and 2009. Under the policy, four routes — Chakan da Bagh in Poonch district, Salamabad in Baramulla district, Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and Wagah-Attari in Punjab — were identified for their return.

The policy was of no help as some militants returned via Nepal, which was not in the approved routes, and hence they did not get any benefit.

In August 2018, the NDA government at the Centre asked the Jammu and Kashmir governor to formulate a new surrender and rehabilitation policy. The state home department started working on the surrender policy afresh with an aim to reduce militancy.

Under the new policy, militants on the list of Subsidiary Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC), a centralised agency for security and intelligence inputs, will be eligible for incentives.

The militants, returning to the mainstream, will be called “renouncers” and they will be entitled for a fixed deposit of ₹5 lakh or ₹6 lakh after a period of three years, subject to their good behaviour. The proposed policy also aims at their economic rehabilitation by providing a monthly stipend of ₹5,000 or ₹6,000, except to militants involved in “heinous crimes”.

Under the scheme of things, a “renouncer” can also apply under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) for selfemployment.

According to figures of the state home department, 435 cases of surrender were received by the government from 2014 to September 2017.

The government provided ₹2.68 crore as monthly incentive in 216 cases while rejecting 219 others.