December 27
The photograph of a Ph.D Scholar turned militant, Waseem Ahmed Rather from Quimoh area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam District has gone viral over social networking sites.
Waseem who had joined Militancy in May this year can be seen wearing a Pheran and holding an AK 47 Rifle in the photograph that is doing rounds on social Media.
The last time Waseem was spotted was at the funeral of his close friend Adil on 06 May.
ALSO READ: The Death of his Friend Forced a Ph.D Scholar to Join Militancy
Adil was a CRPF man before he quit his job and started working as a teacher. During the clashes at Badigam Encounter in which Saddam Padder was killed, Adil was shot dead along with 4 other civilians.
Locals from Quimoh said that the death of his friend Adil Ahmed who was killed during clashes near an encounter site on May 06 in Badigam Shopian was the sole reason behind this PhD Scholar joining Militancy.
Waseem has joined the Militant outfit Hizb ul Mujahideen and is survived by old aged parents and a brother.
South Kashmir districts have witnessed a surge in youth joining the Militant ranks after the encounter of Burhan Wani on July 08, 2016. Despite the Indian Army having launched ‘Operation All Out’ and intensifying the Anti Militancy operations, the local Militancy is on rise.
Militancy this year has seen a huge rise after the three encounters that raged on a single day on April 01 in South Kashmir ending with the death of 13 local Militants.
The Himalayan region has seen large number of youth picking up arms since an armed insurgency began against the Indian rule in 1988. Since their partition both India and Pakistan have fought three wars claiming the region in its entirety. (The Kashmiriyat)