‘Want my son back... come back, Majid’
the house of 20-yearold Majid Khan, a bright student and a promising footballer who joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) last week, it’s heartbreak.
His mother Ayesha Khan weeps inconsolably and beats her chest as she implores her son to return. At least 10 women in the family’s sitting room hold her back as she shrieks and cries.
“I want my only son back .... Majid, come back. Come back and kill your father and me, and then go back again,” Ayesha cries hysterically. Majid, a second-year under-graduate commerce student at a government degree college Anantnag, is the LeT’s latest recruit in the Valley. He is a renowned footballer of the town and had passed Class 10 and 12 examinations with high scores.
Male relatives gathered in an adjacent room of the house said that Majid’s father Irshad Ahmed Khan, a government employee who suffers from a weak heart, has appealed to all “parties conof cerned to please give back my only son”. “We want him back desperately,” said cousin of Majid. The cousin who is also a college student broke down saying he believes Majid was “brainwashed” into joining the ranks.
Such a plea from a family to a son to shun the path of violence is rare in Kashmir where militants are usually revered.
Majid is the only son of the Khans. His two elder sisters are married. The two sisters, along with their husbands and children, moved into the family home in Anantnag town soon after they got to know that their brother reportedly joined the militants Thursday night.
“Our parents kept trying his phone till late night on Thursday. It was switched off. Then we got to know that a photo has come on social media saying Majid has joined militancy,” said one his sisters.
The picture which the sister mentions is one of Majid brandishing an AK 47 rifle – a photo that went viral and evoked strong reactions from his friends on Facebook. His wall is filled with posts like: “Come back bhaai…” and “Your parents need you…”
Many believe the death of his close friend Yawar Nisar was a turning point in Majid’s life. Nisar had joined the militants in July this year and was killed in a gun battle with security forces barely a month later. Police had described Nisar as an overground worker and stone-pelter before joining active militancy.
“Yes, Yawar and Majid were friends. Yawar’s killing had changed Majid and at the funeral he has been photographed crying inconsolably and kissing the body,” said a friend of Majid, who did not want to be named.
Before he picked up a gun, Majid had made a name for himself as the goalkeeper of an Anantnag-based cricket and football club which he joined when he was in the ninth standard.
ANANTNAG:In