Endorsing Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah?s proposal for a surrender-and-rehabilitation policy, Union home minister P Chidambaram today said the government would ?welcome? Kashmiris who had gone to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and wished to return after giving up militancy.
?The idea that any Indian who had crossed over to PoK and wishes to return to India is certainly welcome,? Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.
?The idea is accepted… This idea must now be translated into a scheme,? he said, adding it was one of the recommendations of a working group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for addressing problems of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the return could be facilitated through a scheme which will entail identification, screening, travel, debriefing, rehabilitation and reintegration. Noting that ?PoK is actually an Indian territory?, he said the government ?should facilitate the return? of those who had gone across the Line of Control for ?some reasons?.
A large number of Kashmiri youths crossed over to PoK and joined militant ranks after the outbreak of militancy in J&K. While many got back, some did not return.
?We will consult all sections of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir,? said Chidambaram, noting that there were two parties, National Conference and Congress, in the ruling coalition in the state. He said the Leader of Opposition in J&K would also be consulted. ?Then we will formulate a scheme. It will take time.?
At the conference of CMs on internal security in New Delhi last Sunday, Omar Abdullah had said: ?To encourage more militants to return to the state and manage their transition to civilian life, a new surrender-and-rehabilitation policy for militants is under active consideration of my government.?
But Congress leader and Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former state CM, questioned the idea, saying it could be used as a cover by Pakistan to push foreign militants into India. ?Who will take guarantee of these youth willing to return? How can you prove that these are the same youth who had gone to that side for arms training and are now willing to come back on their own choice? Some foreign terrorists can take advantage of this move,? he said.
In Srinagar, the PDP welcomed Chidambaram?s remarks. ?It shows the change in the mindset of New Delhi,? said PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
?As far as the PDP is concerned, we have been the pioneers of this policy. We never called it a surrender policy. We called it homecoming policy because we want things to be done with dignity and honour,? she said.