The J&K government Tuesday acknowledged reports of young boys joining militant ranks in Kashmir and said it has thrown up a “major challenge” for the present dispensation.
The government also said no military approach can help deal with the situation “which is essentially a result of alienation.”
Talking to us, senior PDP leader and Minister for Education Naeem Akther said the government is “fully aware” of media reports that some 35 young boys have landed in militant ranks in the recent past. “It’s obviously a matter of concern. It has thrown up a big challenge for us on various fronts—moral, political and social. I believe the problem can’t be dealt militarily as the cause behind it is alienation,” Atkher said.
He blamed the previous National Conference-Congress regime of “failing to accommodate youth” which “ultimately resulted in increase in alienation.”
“Unfortunately, the process started by PDP in 2002 witnessed a logjam. Sadly that process (2002 peace initiatives) got reversed,” said Akther, who is also chief spokesman of PDP-BJP alliance.
On whether the government was trying to reach out to these youth, he said: “It’s is very much the agenda of the government. They (youth) need a political space. The government is already in the process of reaching out to these youth to accommodate and empower them.”
Pertinently, a group of young-boys-turned-militants posed in a photograph which was uploaded on social networking site, Facebook, sending security agencies in Kashmir into a tizzy.
According to police estimates, 100 youth joined militancy in the past 18 months while 35 youth joined militant ranks this year. These youth mainly hail from South Kashmir.
