Man who went to PoK to ‘join terrorists’ in 2002 returns, held

In PoK, he underwent arms training at different terrorist camps and was associated with the Al Badr outfit, said Poonch SSP J S Johar. He has been booked under sections 14 and 14-A of the Foreigners Act and section 3 of the Passport Act, Johar said.

[related-post]

Sources said Yaseen, during his stay in PoK, came in contact with a person who had gone there from Surankote. Yaseen contacted his family through this person and expressed a desire to return home.

Police said one of his Dubai-based relatives helped him get a Pakistani passport and a visa to Nepal. He flew to Nepal and from there, he headed to Delhi and then to Jammu. On Friday morning, he started his journey from Jammu to Surankote in a bus.

Police said he was accompanied by his maternal uncle. According to sources, the police already had information about him and had arranged checkposts on the outskirts of Surankote town. Ever since the former Omar Abdullah-led government formulated a policy for return and rehabilitation of such youth, more than 1,250 people have returned to the state — either by crossing the LoC or via Nepal. But according to official sources, they are not eligible for rehabilitation as they did not come through routes identified by the government.