Thursday, February 11, 2010

Azad opposes Omar’s amnesty proposal

Even before Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah starts discussing with the Centre his proposal to facilitate return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri youth lured in the 1990s to PoK camps for terror training, his predecessor and leader of alliance partner Congress, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, has warned that the scheme may be exploited by Pakistan to legally push in trained militants into India.

“The proposed move is not as easy as it seems, we cannot trust either Pakistan or the youth who have gone across the border for arms training...We have bitter experience with Pakistan who may use this opportunity to send militants to this side of border,” Mr Azad cautioned while speaking to mediapersons in Jammu.

“Who will guarantee that these militants will not re-engage in terror activities after they have been resettled here...should we trust Pakistan on this? Could it not be another way of infiltrating armed youth inside,” asked the former chief minister of the erstwhile Congress-PDP government.

Mr Abdullah was however unmoved by the views and concerns expressed by Mr Azad and made it a point to defend his surrender-cum-rehabilitation proposal as a much-needed confidence building measure that could bring back the wayward youth of the state into the mainstream. Stating that pragmatic initiatives were required to ensure economic rehabilitation of the ultras and prevent misuse of the rehabilitation measure, the chief minister said all the pros and cons of the idea had been reflected upon to avoid its misuse.

Justifying his demand for the safe passage-cum-rehabilitation of PoK-based trained Kashmiri youth who wish to lead a peaceful life back home, Mr Abdullah assured that enough checks and verification would be incorporated into the policy so as not to hamper national interests.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Azad-opposes-Omars-amnesty-proposal/articleshow/5558713.cms

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