Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 11: Yet another group of 26 illegal infiltrators including five militants, or former militants, have reached Jammu and Kashmir after entering into India from Sonauli border in Mahrajgunj area of Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh along Nepal border. Of five militants, two of them belonged to Ramban and Doda districts while three others hailed from the Kashmir Valley.
With this, total number of infiltrators, who have reached Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan via Nepal border in past less than one and a half months has reached 84, 19 of them were militants while rest were their Pakistani wives, children and other relatives.
Official sources told the Excelsior that latest group of 26 persons has reached Jammu and Kashmir after their infiltration from Sonauli border of Mahrajgunj in Uttar Pradesh from Nepal. As usual, the Seema Shastra Bal briefly detained the infiltrators along Nepal border before handing them over to Special Cell of Jammu and Kashmir, which drove them to New Delhi and later Jammu and Kashmir.
Though this was fifth group of infiltrators reaching Jammu and Kashmir in the past one and a half months in which total of 19 former militants entered the State along with their Pakistani family members, this was for the first time that two militants from Jammu region were also part of the group. Previously, all militants reaching here from Nepal route belonged to Kashmir.
Five militants, who were part of latest group reaching Jammu and Kashmir, have been identified as Aarif Mohammad of Ramban, Maajid Hussain of Doda district, Mohammad Saleem Mughal, Aijaz Ahmad Soofi and Manzoor Ahmad, all hailing from the Valley.
Mohammad Saleem Mughal, a resident of Uri in Baramulla district brought along with his Pakistani wife Ameena Begum, his children and other relatives including Nasreen Saleem, Waseem Akram, Shayika Saleem, Sahira Saleem, Mariya Saleem, Muqadas Saleem, Muskaan Saleem and Sayeed Saleem.
Aarif Mohammad of Ramban district and Maajid Hussain of Doda district were among those who reached Jammu and Kashmir in the group of 26, sources said.
Aijaz Ahmad Soofi of Kupwara brought with him his wife Inreen Bibi and children Khansha Aijaz and Samra Aijaz while Manzoor Ahmed of Kupwara was accompanied by his wife Ameena Bibi and children Javed Manzoor and Aarjoo Manzoor.
Sources said all 26 infiltrators were in possession of Pakistani passports, which the SSB seized from their possession and later handed over to the Special Cell of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
They added that all the militants and their family members had reached Pakistan’s port city of Karachi from PoK capital of Muzaffarabad and then boarded Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight to reach Kathmandu from where they entered into Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal.
Though the former militants of Jammu and Kashmir, stranded in Pakistan and PoK had started returning from Nepal border along with their Pakistani families after the announcement of Rehabilitation Policy in 2010, this was for the first time that 84 militants and their family members have returned from Pakistan in less than one and a half months, all taking one route of Sonauli, Mahrajgunj in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
As Rehabilitation Policy of J&K Government had the nod of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the para-military SSB, deployed along Nepal border only detain the infiltrators and then hand over them to Special Cell of Jammu and Kashmir Police after brief questioning. The JKP takes them to Srinagar, where a case is registered against them. Majority of them have been bailed out by different courts.
Though the militants have started returning from Pakistan and PoK after announcement of Rehabilitation Policy, none of them would be entitled to benefits under the Policy as they had not taken four routes identified by Government in the Policy.
The approved routes included Poonch-Rawlakote in Jammu region, Uri-Muzaffarabad in Kashmir, Wagah border in Amritsar district of Punjab and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
It may be mentioned here that the Intelligence agencies have quite often voiced concern over return of militants along with their families from Pakistan and PoK on the ground that some of them might have been sent from Pakistan by the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) or the militants to settle in the Valley and become active into the militancy when required.
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