Alleged Hizbul Mujahideen militant Liaquat Ali Shah’s name figures in the Centre’s list of 400-odd Kashmir militants in PoK who wanted to surrender. Liaquat’s arrest by the Delhi police for planning a major strike in the capital has flummoxed the home ministry, which was facilitating the entry of surrendered militants via Nepal since 2011. With the J&K police insisting Liaquat was a surrendered militant, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday ordered a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the circumstances. Formal orders are, however, yet to be issued.
The row over Liaquat’s arrest has raised a bigger concern for MHA: whether the antecedents of each surrendered militant are being verified properly. This must go through a three-tier check — by RAW, IB and J&K police — before he sets foot on Indian soil. In Liaquat’s case, the local IB unit had information on his arrival via Nepal on February 19, but this input reached the Delhi police only on March 22, a day after his arrest.