Jammu and Kashmir government to do headcount of youth who crossed over to PoK: Wani

SRINAGAR - Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani has said the Jammu and Kashmir government would launch a headcount to trace missing people and to know the total number of youth, who had gone to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) since 1990s and facilitate their return.

Thousands of Kashmiris have slipped into Pakistan-administered Kashmir for arms training since an anti-India insurgency broke out twenty years ago.

Nasir Aslam Wani said, “See that is a huge exercise that we have to take now. Now we are going to go for actual headcount because we don’t actually know; once this process starts, we will expect people from other side also to respond.”

“Let us know how many people are there, who have either migrated from the forward areas or are youths from rest of the state who have gone,” added Wani.

The Centre has planned to facilitate return of all Kashmiri youths who had gone to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and now wish to return by denouncing militancy.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had earlier said that those Indians, who had crossed over to PoK and now wish to return to India are certainly welcome.

The Centre’s step could be viewed as a response to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s proposal to formulate new surrender and rehabilitation policy. (ANI)