Geelani’s aide Ashraf Sehrai says he won’t call back son Junaid from Hizbul Mujahideen, blames authorities for youth taking up arms in J&K.
New Delhi: Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, the newly-appointed chairman of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat political party, has refused to ask his son Junaid Ashraf to return from the ranks of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
In an interview to ThePrint, Sehrai said the present generation in Kashmir is educated enough to think and decide for itself, “unlike Sheikh Abdullah’s era”.
“The government of India should realise that the new generation is not from 1950, when Sheikh Abdullah was leading the people. It is the generation born in the 1990s which understands everything,” Sehrai said.
“They are not ready to tolerate any form of suppression. They question if their rights are curbed; and with no solution forming before them, they pick up guns to fight on their own.”
He said he didn’t have any inkling that his 28-year-old son would pick up the gun. A photo of Junaid, an MBA from the University of Kashmir, went viral on social media last weekend, in which he could be seen brandishing an AK-47 rifle. Junaid had left home last Friday for prayers but didn’t return that night. His brother Rashid filed a missing person’s report in a nearby police station, but soon after, the picture with the gun went viral.
This is the first time that the son of a senior separatist leader has joined the militancy. The Tehreek-e-Hurriyat is a constituent of the Hurriyat Conference’s hardline faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and was founded by Geelani himself. Sehrai has been among the octogenarian leader’s closest aides, and was named chairman last week.
How can I appeal?
Talking about J&K DGP S.P. Vaid’s call to appeal to his son to give up the path of the gun, Sehrai said no Hurriyat leader had ever been asked to make such appeals to militants from the valley. “No senior leader was ever asked to appeal to boys who chose to pick up guns to fight the Indian forces. Their blood was not cheap. Now, I am the father of this boy, but how can I appeal to him?” he asked.
“When Mannan Wani from Aligarh Muslim University picked up the gun, no one asked us to make such appeal. I am not a professional politician but I have a commitment and cause towards Kashmir. Even when I had no knowledge about Junaid choosing this path, I am not among those who would sit and cry.”
He said that his son “did not even bid him a last goodbye, which was his duty as a son”.
The Kashmir issue is not about replacing transformers
On the question of talks, Sehrai said the Hurriyat was always ready to come to the dialogue table, but on the condition that “India takes all stakeholders in confidence, especially Kashmiris”.
Taking a dig at the Centre’s interlocutor, Dineshwar Sharma, Sehrai stressed that the government showed “no seriousness on holding a meaningful dialogue in Kashmir”.
“The Congress experimented by appointing interlocutors, and the BJP is doing the same. While the report compiled by previous interlocutors lies in trash bins, Sharma is coming and meeting people who complain about the replacement of transformers in their area. Do you think the Kashmir issue is about restoring electricity supply? If this is the seriousness this government’s interlocutor is showing, what do you expect the Hurriyat to do?” Sehrai asked.
He maintained that unless India talked with “all stakeholders, upholding the UN Charter and international humanitarian laws with respect to Kashmir”, the efforts for a dialogue were futile. “Both India and Pakistan must come forward and hold a dialogue at the international level with the principal party, which is Kashmir,” he said.
Guns on both sides
Asked if he thought guns could bring any solution to the Kashmir issue, Sehrai said guns were present on both sides — those picked up by the youth were in response to the guns of state forces.
“The gun on this side started only after the guns from the state were roaring. Kashmiris continue to languish in jails, interrogation centres, face pellet guns… are we not human? If we ask for our rights, why are we treated as animals? India is a democracy but Kashmir has not seen its democratic face yet,” Sehrai answered.
“The democratic face of India was when a popular leader like Indira Gandhi lost election. But in Kashmir, even candidates were locked up at the time of elections while major rigging took place — in 1987.”
They are under pressure from their masters accross the border to perform.
Even if his son gets killed which i am sure he will be Hurriyat Leaders can have four marrages and as many children in the name of so called Jahad