Srinagar boy joins militant ranks, family appeals to him to come back

:A day after pictures of Faid Mushtaq Waza, 18, with an assault rifle began doing rounds on social media, his family has appealed to him to return home.

Waza is suspected to have joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) after disappearing from his home in Khanyar area of Srinagar on Friday. The picture circulating on social media claims that Waza’s new code name is Abu Usama and his date of joining is March 23, 2018.

“We are ascertaining the facts,” said Srinagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Imtiaz Ismail Parray.

Demonstrating at Srinagar’s Press Enclave, Waza’s mother Mymoona cried, “Please return home. You know how much your parents are suffering.”

Mymoona is suffering from heart ailments and high blood pressure while Waza’s father is also undergoing treatment at a city hospital, as per the family.

Mymoona added that Waza had left home on Friday saying he was going to a religious gathering but has not returned since.

When a prominent footballer from south Kashmir shunned militancy after hearing his mother’s fervent pleas in November last year, he inadvertently set off a process whereby the families of suspected militants, often new recruits, appeal to them to return, recording success on multiple occasions.

Last week, Junaid Ashraf Sehrai, son of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat’s (TeH) new chief, was reported to have joined Hizbul Mujahideen.

SRINAGAR