Militants who surrender to be ‘temporarily settled’ outside Kashmir: Report

Srinagar: Militants who give up arms in Kashmir will be sent to other parts of India as part of a new scheme to wean them out of it, Reuters reported quoting a senior Army officer on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General B.S. Raju revealed to Reuters the plan for a new scheme to offer a way out of militancy.

“These are young boys who need to be taken care of for a period of time,” he said, adding that could involve temporarily settling them outside of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

According to the report, the officer said that the military had recommended the scheme take a longer-term approach to rehabilitating ex-militants.

“The bottom-line is that it will have a structure that will help and give confidence to the people who are opting to surrender,” Raju said.

“The military estimates that there are currently around 180 militants operating with various groups active in the valley,” Raju said.

Some 70 local Kashmiris are reckoned to have been recruited by these groups since the start of the year, about a dozen less than during the same period a year ago.

“We wish that this should drop further, and finally cease altogether,” Raju said.