The J&K CM’s proposal to grant amnesty to returning militants has alarmed certain political forces, but if implemented right, the process could serve as much-needed salve for the festering wounds of the Valley, reports Haroon Reshi
The early 1990s: armed insurgency had just erupted in Kashmir valley. Muhammad Shafiq Bhat, then only 15 years old, had passed his Class 8 examination. Drawn by the cause that the militants represented, he left home to join Hezbollah, a local terrorist outfit.
One thing followed another and, in order to make himself combat ready, he crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the company of a group of youth to receive arms training. Among his co-travellers, there were many boys from his neighbourhood.
A few months later, all the boys returned armed with Kalashnikovs. But Shafiq stayed on in POK. During the course of the arms training, he had had a change of heart. Instead of embracing militancy, he opted to become a professional driver in PoK.
Several years later, back in Srinagar, his family received a message from Shafiq. He had got married to a local girl named Aisha in Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. The message also contained an appeal to his family for financial help.
His mother, Jigar Begum, sold a piece of the family land in Srinagar for Rs 3 lakh. She applied for a passport and went to PoK via the Wagah border to see her newly wedded son and his bride. She handed over the money to Shafiq, who used it to buy his own passenger vehicle in Muzaffarabad.
After Jigar Begum returned to Srinagar she was arrested by the police for questioning. She was released after three days when locals came out to protest against the arrest of an elderly woman.
Two decades on, Shafiq wants to return home. Not with a gun and ammunition, but with his wife and three children. His mother and other relatives in Srinagar are eagerly waiting for that day to dawn when Shafiq would be able to step foot in Srinangar again.
Says Jigar Begum, now 80 years old: “It will be like a dream come true when I see my child back in our midst. He was a kid at that time. Now he has grown up. He deserves forgiveness for the mistake which he committed in his childhood. All of us are being punished for a child’s mistake. How can the government be so cruel?”
This old woman also lost her elder son, Muhammad Ibraheem Bhat, in a militancy-related incident in 1994. According to family members, Ibraheem was killed in crossfire between militants and security forces near his residence in Batamallo area of Srinagar.
“The conflict has ruined my family. I have lost my two sons, one forever and another for an indefinite period. I want to see Shafiq before I die,” Jigar Begum told TSI, tears rolling down her face.
The early 1990s: armed insurgency had just erupted in Kashmir valley. Muhammad Shafiq Bhat, then only 15 years old, had passed his Class 8 examination. Drawn by the cause that the militants represented, he left home to join Hezbollah, a local terrorist outfit.
One thing followed another and, in order to make himself combat ready, he crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the company of a group of youth to receive arms training. Among his co-travellers, there were many boys from his neighbourhood.
A few months later, all the boys returned armed with Kalashnikovs. But Shafiq stayed on in POK. During the course of the arms training, he had had a change of heart. Instead of embracing militancy, he opted to become a professional driver in PoK.
Several years later, back in Srinagar, his family received a message from Shafiq. He had got married to a local girl named Aisha in Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. The message also contained an appeal to his family for financial help.
His mother, Jigar Begum, sold a piece of the family land in Srinagar for Rs 3 lakh. She applied for a passport and went to PoK via the Wagah border to see her newly wedded son and his bride. She handed over the money to Shafiq, who used it to buy his own passenger vehicle in Muzaffarabad.
After Jigar Begum returned to Srinagar she was arrested by the police for questioning. She was released after three days when locals came out to protest against the arrest of an elderly woman.
Two decades on, Shafiq wants to return home. Not with a gun and ammunition, but with his wife and three children. His mother and other relatives in Srinagar are eagerly waiting for that day to dawn when Shafiq would be able to step foot in Srinangar again.
Says Jigar Begum, now 80 years old: “It will be like a dream come true when I see my child back in our midst. He was a kid at that time. Now he has grown up. He deserves forgiveness for the mistake which he committed in his childhood. All of us are being punished for a child’s mistake. How can the government be so cruel?”
This old woman also lost her elder son, Muhammad Ibraheem Bhat, in a militancy-related incident in 1994. According to family members, Ibraheem was killed in crossfire between militants and security forces near his residence in Batamallo area of Srinagar.
“The conflict has ruined my family. I have lost my two sons, one forever and another for an indefinite period. I want to see Shafiq before I die,” Jigar Begum told TSI, tears rolling down her face.
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