‘Many Kashmiri youths visiting Pak on valid papers infiltrating back as terrorists’

Srinagar, Aug 01 (PTI):
The recent killing of terrorist Shakir Altaf Bhat and subsequent finding that he had left the country on a valid passport for studies in Pakistan in 2018 and returned as a terrorist set alarm bells ringing in the security establishment in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said here on Sunday.
Security agencies made a quick estimate of passports issued between 2015 and 2019, and found that out of the 40 youths who had gone to Bangladesh or Pakistan for studies, 28 had infiltrated back into the country as trained terrorists, the officials said.
This is in addition to over 100 Kashmiri youths who travelled to Pakistan on valid visas for short durations, and have either not come back or disappeared after their return in the last three years. The security agencies fear that they could be possible sleeper cells of terror groups operating from across the border. The July 24 encounter in the heights of Bandipora led to the killing of three terrorists, including Bhat, a resident of the same district. Security agencies believe that Bhat had targeted to assassinate Usman Majid, a former militant-turned-politician who has withstood at least three such bids in the past. Between April 1 to 6 of last year, some youths hailing from Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts of south Kashmir were seen as part of the infiltrating groups of terrorists and all of them had travelled to Pakistan on valid documents and never returned thereafter, they said.
A massive exercise was undertaken by the security agencies along with the immigration officials at Wagah border as well as at the New Delhi airport during which it was found that at least 40 youths who had travelled to either Bangladesh or Pakistan for studies were missing with their families not knowing about their wards, they said. As a precautionary measure, even the youths from the valley who travelled on valid visas for a duration of over seven days over the last three years were questioned, the officials said.