Page 67 - English Tehelka Issue 7 - April 15, 2018

militancy

n March 25, to “a pointless militaristic forwards. “Militants have a A top Hurriyat leader’s
Junaid Ashraf approach” to resolve the short span so don’t take it son joining the militancy
Khan left home turmoil. “Harassment of the as politics. No politician has has many implications for
at Srinagar’s youth, ill-treatment meted sacrificed his son till date. It the prevailing troubled situ-
O Baghat area to out to political prisoners, is because of sincerity and ation in the Valley and the
attend the Friday prayers and iron-fisted policies dedication for the cause,” separatist politics too. For
at a nearby mosque. Soon of the state and Central posted a user on Facebook. one, it is certain to substan-
after, he went missing. A day governments has become “No achievement. We tially raise the political clout
later a picture of him bran- a substitute to a political know the life span of mili- of Sehrai, who is already
dishing a Kalashankov went process for the resolution tants is very short and also billed to succeed Geelani
viral on social media. Khan of the Kashmir issue,” the know that nothing gained as the chairman of the
had joined militancy. statement said. by guns in past 30 years influential Hurriyat con-
But that was not why his The incident has trig- then why we glorifying his glomerate called Hurriyat
picture had circulated on- gered a raging debate in move? His life is valuable (G), nullifying the case of the
line. Militancy had little to the Valley, with comments for his parents. I wish he other possible contenders.
do with it. The picture had being posted on Twitter, will return (to) his home Hurriyat (G) has leaders like
gone viral as Khan is the son Facebook and WhatsApp soon,” posted another. Shabir Shah and Masarat
of Mohammed Ashraf Seh- Alam Bhat who can also
rai, a top separatist leader boast of a long separatist
and the newly appointed In a fIrst, major pedigree like Sehrai.
chief of the Tehreek-i-Hur- But apart from its pos-
riyat, succeeding Syed Ali sible succession dimen-
Shah Geelani. separatIst’s son sion, the development has
It is for the first time in brought home the troubling
30 years of the secessionist new phenomenon of grow-
struggle in the Valley that becomes mIlItant ing fascination with the gun
the son of a major separa- among the local youth, a
tist has taken up the gun. fact which also came up for
Khan is an MBA and was Despite 200 militants being killed last year, discussion in the security
unemployed for some time. the trend of local youth in the Valley taking up review meeting chaired
According to the family, he by home secretary Rajiv
had shown no signs that he arms has shown little signs of ebbing. What is Gauba in Srinagar. “We will
was interested in militancy more worrying is that highly educated youth provide full support to all
and that his decision had are also taking the plunge, RIYAZ WANI reports of you in engaging youth
shocked them. in various development
Sehrai has since refused activities so that they are
to speak on the issue. kept away from militancy,”
Sources in his party have an official quoted Gauba as
said he will not appeal to his having told the meeting.
son to shun militancy and Despite the killing of
return. Earlier, J&K DGP S 218 militants last year and
P Vaid had urged Sehrai to around 35 more since Janu-
persuade his son and the ary, the trend of local youth
other militants “to give up taking up arms has shown
the path of the gun”. little signs of ebbing. What
The development also is more, as Khan’s example
occasioned a meeting of the has shown — and earlier
separatist trio Syed Ali Shah that of a PhD scholar from
Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Aligarh Muslim University
Farooq and Yasin Malik. — even the youth who are
However, their statement highly educated and belong
to the media was meaning- to insulated families are
fully silent about Khan. also taking the plunge.
Instead, they blamed the
government for resorting letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 15 april 2018 66 www.Tehelka.com

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