State mulls rehab policy for militants

Tribune News Service
Jammu, January 24

Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday said the killing of militants was no solution to problem in Kashmir and the state administration was working on a policy for the return of gun-wielding Kashmiri youth to the mainstream.

“Terrorism is not in the barrel of a gun, but it is in the brain. We want to cure that by offering them something in the form of rehabilitation so that they return to the mainstream. A policy for their rehabilitation is under consideration,” Malik told reporters on the sidelines of 9th Sat Paul Sahni Memorial Lecture, organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, J&K Regional Branch here.

He said, “I feel bad even if there is loss of a single life — even if it is that of a terrorist. We want all (local militants) to come back to the mainstream and (plan to) make a good rehabilitation offer”.

The Governor’s remarks came against the backdrop of killing of 257 militants in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 — the highest in 10 years.

Malik also patted the back of J&K Police and security personnel for playing a “tremendous and amazing role” while conducting counter-insurgency operations under difficult circumstances in the Kashmir valley.

Addressing a gathering of academicians, police officers and students, the Governor turned sarcastic saying he was virtually living in a golden cage where the people could live with comfort but could not speak freely and he had taken this risk many times.

The audience also erupted into applause after the Governor said he had learned more after coming to J&K. “I am learning a lot in J&K. I am learning from the bureaucracy as how a file takes four months to move from one table to another,” he said.

Earlier, former Adviser to Chief Minister Prof Amitabh Mattoo delivered a lecture on the theme, “Ethics and the Media: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”. He said the country, particularly J&K, was unprepared to deal with new forms of journalism, especially the social media.

“The distinction between fake and real news is becoming borderless and seamless… The new media is exposing a large number of people to diabolic space of Internet. Despite Indians having a large presence in the Silicon Valley, we are unprepared to ensure the safety and security of our society from the new media which is immoral, diabolical, democratic and decentralised,” Mattoo said, adding that a study was needed to face this phenomenon.