SRINAGAR: In a first-of-its-kind outreach, top army and police officials on Tuesday urged the families of terrorists in south Kashmir to bring back their children into the mainstream.
The officials made the plea during an interactive session with the families of 83 active terrorists on the sidelines of South Kashmir Sports Festival at Batpura Stadium in Shopian.
GoC 15 Corps Lt Gen D P Pandey, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar (inset) and Major General Rashim Bali attended the event.
During the event marking the first time the top army and police officials interacted with families of active terrorists and urged them to convince their wards to surrender, Lt gen Pandey said: “I want to appeal to the families to convince their wards to surrender. If they think they would be killed upon surrendering, their names could be kept secret. Visit any army or police camp and inform the officials whom you trust. We will silently bring him out and shift him outside for a few years. He will remain under your care and after a few years he can return here and become a respectable member of the society.”
“Nothing good will come out of losing your wards to terrorism,” he said, adding, “The families should tell white-collared jehadis to pick up the gun and fight against security forces.”