‘We Are Pakistanis, Send Us Back Or Provide Travel Documents’: Pakistani Wives Of Kashmiri Ex-Militants

Srinagar: Scores of Pakistani wives of Kasmiri ex-militants staged a protest demonstration at Press Enclave in Srinagar on Saturday, demanding citizenship rights and travel documents from the Jammu and Kashmir government.

They said that they had come to Kashmir with their husbands, the ex-militants who had gone across the line of control (LoC) for arms training but surrendered and returned to the Valley, to live their life with dignity under government’s rehabilitation programme for surrendered militants.

The protesting women were carrying a banner that read, ” Hum Pakistani hai, humein wapas bejdo (We are Pakistanis, send us back).

“We living in a cage here as we are not able to meet our parents, siblings and relatives due to lack of travel documents,” said Saba Fayaz, wife of a surrendred militant.

Saba along with her husband Fayaz Ahmad Bhat returned to the Valley in 2012.

She said that they were invited to settle in Kashmir and were promised of dignified life under the government’s rehabilitation policy announced for surrendered militants in 2010.

Saba said she doesn’t have an Indian passport to travel to Pakistan as she rues the rehablitation policy for surrendered Kashmiri militants.

“But, we have not received any benefit from the rehabilitation policy,” she said. (RK)