Former militant who left PoK with Liyaqat reaches Valley, surrenders

More than 16 years after he crossed over to PoK, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, now 38, arrived at his hometown of Bandipore on Saturday evening.

Mir, a former militant, and his family left PoK for Nepal on March 17. They were accompanied by another former militant, Syed Liyaqat Ahmad Shah, and his family. The two families reportedly surrendered at the Sanauli checkpost on the Nepal border, as part of a rehabilitation policy of the J&K government for surrendered militants.

Mir was lucky, as his relatives were waiting at the border, with identity cards for him and his family.

Shah did not have anyone to receive him, nor did he have any identity cards. He was reportedly separated from the group, and later arrested for allegedly planning terror attacks in the capital.

After arriving in Bandipore yesterday, Mir surrendered before the Counter Intelligence Kashmir, a wing of the J&K Police CID. He is expected to be released on bail in a few days. "We will be producing him before the court, and he is likely to be out on bail in a few days," confirmed a senior CID official.

"Last year, I had registered him for his return under the rehabilitation policy," said Mir's brother, Mohammad Qasim, a Congress panch.

Police sources said Mir, who crossed over to PoK in 1996, was affiliated to the Hizbul Mujahideen. Mir married in PoK and has five children.

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