Embracing Gun

News Kashmir Exclusive

The romance of youth towards gun in valley is the latest worry of distraught parents in Kashmir . A news featured recently in Economic times titled as – Every third day, a youth takes up arms in Kashmir valley. This suggests the grave nature of the problem.
In a worrying development , The son of senior separatist leader Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai had also joined militancy last Saturday.
Sehrai’s son Junaid Ahmad Sehrai, who had done MBA, had gone missing from the home on Friday and next day his picture with an AK-47 rifle had gone viral on social media. He has joined the biggest militant group Hizbul Mujahideen.
Sehrai is a close aide of senior separatist leader and had recently taken over a chairman of Geelani’s party, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Meanwhile, three youth , all hailing from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district have gone missing since last week.
According to the voices of sanity, it is a worrying trend that how violence is having glamour power for the youth and also the increased bloodshed is taking the most toll on the youth of Kashmir. The images of youth holding gun and the same appear on the social media and go viral within no time .

Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, an eminent political analyst stated – “
The political status quo, militarization of public spaces and institutional denial of justice has driven youth to the wall, with desperation and disillusionment looming large. The state, government along with resistance leadership has failed to inspire them to see beyond vicious cycle of death, violence and martyrdom. Add to it the inspiration of transnational violent movements like Isis and Al Qaeda that have inspired a fringe element of youth towards establishing an idealist concept of an Islamic state. The daily humiliation, state violence, police harassment and denial of dissent are contributing factors that drive youth to take the extreme plunge of taking arms against the state.”
Fathers lifting coffins of their dead sons, mothers world getting destroyed due to death of son in conflict situation and weeping sisters and near, dear ones are the outcome of prolonged violence in Kashmir with these scenes now becoming worryingly a nutshell.
What is needed a proper counseling to youth , end of injustices and atrocities and a dialogue process on all burning issues.