Over the last six to seven months, there have been several examples of Kashmiri youths who escaped training camps in PoK and landed in India, largely via Nepal. While close to 20 have been apprehended and the government is considering a lenient view towards them, sources said, many more may have already reached their families.

Their accounts show a loss of morale in these camps, particularly those belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen—the only Kashmiri militant outfit. Sources said the reduced numbers mean that their handlers are compelled to use them sparingly so that the Kashmiri face is not lost from the effort.

According to the interrogation reports, Hizbul has three main camps in PoK. One, the Jungle Mangal Camp, has 20 rooms and 30 tents and can house over 200 members. Currently, there are only 60-70 militants. The second, the Garhi Habibullah camp, was a large camp that can take Now the strength is 70-80 militants. The Boi Camp, which could hold 100-120 members, now has only 30 members.

Of those who returned from these camps, about a dozen are Hizbul cadres and their stories are similar. They were first lodged in one of these camps and after a few weeks, were sent for arms training to a separate camp called Ilaqa-e-gair. This training lasted three months, where they followed a soldier-like regimen and were trained in weapons—AK 47, LMG, pistols and grenade throwing—and survival training.

In the initial years, each trained member would get Rs 500 a month, which was raised to Rs 1,500. With the Kashmiri youth in PoK getting restive, the allowance was raised to Rs 1,900 a month.

The escape stories are similar too. The first step is to arrange for some money, which, incidentally in some cases, was provided by a relative through the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus. Then, they would get a Pakistani passport and a Nepal visa through an illegal agent. Once in Kathmandu, they destroy the passport and walk in through the open border.

Consider some of these accounts:

• Javed Ahmed Mir (Hizbul Mujahideen): Unlike others, he escaped into India directly—by the Delhi-Lahore bus in mid-August. He had a Pakistani passport and an Indian visa that he got after coughing up Rs 40,000 (Pak currency). A resident of Kupwara district, Mir had left Kashmir in September 2005. He was lodged in Jungle Mangal camp before going to the Ilaqa-e-gair for arms training. He claims to have been in touch with his family over phone and they asked him to return.

• Fayaz Ahmed (Al Umar Mujahideen): He worked with a Turkish NGO during the Kashmir earthquake relief effort and earned $100 a month, which helped him get a Pakistani passport and Nepal visa to return to India in August. He was 17 when he crossed over to PoK in 2001 along with 22 other boys. The group was sent to the ISI camp at Manshera. After his training, they were shifted to a camp in Haripore in 2002. According to him, some of the older boys told their trainers that they wanted to marry and did not want to be militants anymore. He recalls that they were beaten up and a person claiming to be Mast Gul of Charar-e-Sharif fame was sent to pacify them. But the boys chased him away and set the vehicles on fire.

• Ghulam Mohammed Bhatt (Hizbul Mujahidden): He reached India in August via Nepal along with two other Kashmiris, Tariq Hussain Khan and Omar Asaf Bhatt. His family had sent him Rs 60,000 through a relative settled in Pakistan. They took a PIA flight to Kathmandu and from there, reached Jammu. He also recounted that the trio had to hire a Sumo from Jammu as public transport was not available due to the Amarnath agitation.