Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 24: A Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami (HuJI) militant managed to reach all the way from Pakistan’s port city of Karachi to his home town at Surankote in Poonch district along with his Pakistani wife and three children this morning before being arrested by the police.
The militant, Nazir Hussain, 28, son of Mohammad Bashir, a resident of Marhot, Surankot, had crossed over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Sabjian sector of Poonch district in 2001 for arms training. He was then affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit.
Most of the militants intruding into Indian territory at Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from Nepal after flying to Kathmandu from Karachi are either captured at the border or other places. However, Nazir Hussain managed to reach his home town along with his wife and three children unnoticed before he was arrested today morning at Surankote.
SSP Poonch Shamsheer Hussain said Nazir Hussain was arrested with his Pakistani wife and three children at Jogi Morh naka at Surankote before he could reach his house at Surankote.
Nazir’s wife has been identified as Rifat Bibi, 24, a resident of village Nikyal in PoK and their three children as Asma Nazir, 6, Umar Nazir, 4 and Osama Nazir, 2. Nazir had married Rifat at Nikyal in 2005.
One Nepali SIM card of Nepal Cell, two identity cards, issued by police authorities in PoK on the name of Nazir and Rifat and some other belongings were recovered from the possession of the arrested persons.
Police said Nazir Hussain was lured into the militancy when he was just 16 by the LeT commander in Surankote and sent to PoK for arms training via Sabjian sector in 2001. He underwent arms training in Sagosh training camp of PoK for more than one year. Later, disenchanted with militancy, Nazir reached Karachi where he underwent Islamic Studies in Karachi.
After studies, the militant returned to Nikyal and joined HuJI outfit. He remained active in the outfit for about a year and then married Rifat Bibi of Nikyal and started living in rented accommodation. He had three children from Rifat.
Police said it was being ascertained whether the family of Nazir had applied for his return under Rehabilitation Policy of the State Government or not.
However, they clarified, that return of Nazir from Nepal route didn’t fall under the Rehabilitation Policy as he hadn’t taken four routes prescribed under the Policy. Only a day before, Army had pushed back a militant of Poonch, who was trying to enter into this side from the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district and asked him to take the prescribed route.
With the arrest of Nazir Hussain, his wife and three children, the number of persons including militants and former militants, who have returned from Pakistan and PoK after announcement of the Rehabilitation Policy had reached 270. All of them had returned from Nepal route.
Sources said Nazir Ahmed and his family had flown to Kathmandu in Nepal from Karachi and then entered Uttar Pradesh from Gorakhpur through Indo-Nepal border. They took train from Gorakhpur to reach Jammu from where they boarded a TATA Sumo and were headed for Surankote, where they were arrested.
The Rehabilitation Policy of the Government had prescribed Poonch-Rawlakote route in Jammu, Uri-Muzaffarabad route in Kashmir, Wagah border in Punjab and Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi as four routes for return of the militants from Pakistan and PoK to avail benefits of the Policy.
However, all the militants have returned from Nepal route as the Pakistani authorities especially the Army and Rangers were not allowing the militants to return from LoC and IB.
Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs had decided to release a fresh Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) on the return of militants from PoK via Nepal route following concern expressed by the Intelligence agencies over influx of militants from Pakistan and PoK into India via Nepal.
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