NEW DELHI: Sending a tough message, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that no family member of any terrorist nor close relatives of stone pelters will get Government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah also said that the Narendra Modi Government has not only targeted terrorists but also eliminated the terror ecosystem, resulting in a drastic fall in terror incidents in the country.
“In Kashmir, we have decided that if someone joins a terrorist organization, their family members will not get any Government job,” he told in an interview over the weekend.
Similarly, Shah said that if someone indulges in stone pelting, his family members will also not get a government job.
He said some human rights activists challenged the decision at the Supreme Court, but the Government ultimately prevailed.
The Home Minister, however, said the Government will make an exception in case someone from a family comes forward and informs the authorities that his or her close relative has joined a terror outfit.
Such families will be given relief, he said.
Earlier, funeral processions used to be taken out in Kashmir after a terrorist was killed, Shah said. “We have stopped this trend. We have ensured that the terrorist is buried with all religious formalities but in an isolated place,” he said.
The home minister said when a terrorist is surrounded by the security forces, he is first given a chance to surrender.
“We call family members like his mother or wife and ask them to make an appeal to the terrorist to surrender. If he (the terrorist) does not listen, he dies,” Shah said.
The Home Minister said terror incidents have gone down significantly in Jammu and Kashmir as the government has not only targeted the terrorists but also eliminated the terror ecosystem. “Through the NIA (National Investigation Agency), we have taken strong action against terror funding and ended it. We have taken a very tough stand on terror funding,” he said. (Agencies)