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| Govt.told not to take hasty step on amnesty to militants | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu,February 21:-Senior Army functionaries in Jammu and Kashmir are said to be not in favour of taking a hasty step on the issue of granting amnesty to the militants wishing to return to the valley from across the border without weapons.Reports said that even the Defence Minister,A.K.Antony,is in favour of having a detailed discussion on the issue.
A senior Army officer said that "we are worried over the reports suggesting that agencies across the LOC were planning to assist groups of militants,brought on the launching pads,in sneaking into Jammu and Kashmir and in the light of these reports it may be inadvisable to grant amnesty to militants who wish to return without weapons."He said "we are not against it but we want a suitable mechanism to be evolved so that ISI agents and Lashkar-i-Toiba activists did not manage to cross into Jammu and Kashmir as local citizens."
"How can even the local police be sure whether those who wish to return to Kashmir have not been trained in espionage activities by the ISI ?"The officer wished to ask.He said that there was no doubt that the level of militancy related violence had declined but groups of militants continue to be active in the state.First of all the security forces have to sanitise the whole state against militants and then only the Government could grant general amnesty to those militants who want to return after having shed the path of violence.
A police officer said that no doubt those militants,who had returned to the valley via Nepal,had not been found indulging in any subversive violence but that was no gurantee that others too would behave properly.He said that it is to be seen what policy the Government will adopt towards those militants who had married nonkashmiri women and were keen to return to the valley alongwith their wives and children. He too stated that once the valley was free of militants then alone general amnesty could be granted because once those on the other side of the LOC may feel isolated once they are allowed to return to Kashmir.
Reports said that after the Defence Ministry experts and senior Army functionaries besides the main opposition BJP were opposed to amnesty to Kashmiri militants the centre may not rush with the plan of allowing them to return to the valley.Instead it may first discuss the issue with main political parties in order to develop a consensus so that the matter was debated with Islamabad. The central Government has been told not to take any hasty step lest the level of militancy related violence should increase.(eom)
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