The centre has made its policy facilitating the return of Kashmiri militants from Pakistan to India more stringent. Instances of Pakistani saboteurs crossing over under the guise of surrendered Indian militants has forced the Union Home Ministry to discard the velvet glove it wore to be in synch with the J&K government's healing touch campaign.
Henceforth, all surrenders will be subject to prior verification of the militants’ antecedents by the Jammu and Kashmir police and central intelligence agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing.
Over the past two years, there have been nearly two dozen recorded cases of Pakistan/Pakistan-occupied Kashmir nationals entering Jammu and Kashmir by exploiting the loopholes in the existing surrender policy. Of these, 14 cases were detected in 2006 and seven this year. A number of them are said to have gone underground. The state CID is probing three such cases, a senior state police official said.
The absence of a nodal authority on the issue is another reason for the tougher surrender regime. In the absence of such an agency, various security and intelligence outfits have sometimes been found organising surrenders at their level for individual credit. For the same reason, they also often work at cross-purposes.
Out of 190 cases of surrender in 2006, the army conducted 79 at the Line of Control and 41 inside the border. The remaining 70 militants surrendered to other security agencies. Similarly, till July, 50 militants surrendered to the army at the LoC and nine in the hinterland. Some 24 gave themselves up to other agencies.
{{/usCountry}}Out of 190 cases of surrender in 2006, the army conducted 79 at the Line of Control and 41 inside the border. The remaining 70 militants surrendered to other security agencies. Similarly, till July, 50 militants surrendered to the army at the LoC and nine in the hinterland. Some 24 gave themselves up to other agencies.
{{/usCountry}}Militants who married after making PoK/Pakistan their home will now find it difficult to surrender with their family. They will have to route their requests through the Indian High Commission in Islamabad instead of directly contacting the security agencies, as has been the case.