More mothers appeal to ‘militant’ sons to return

SRINAGAR: Two distraught mothers in Kashmir have come out with video messages urging their militant sons to return home, hoping for a reunion like that of a popular footballer who surrendered last week.

In her message, mother of Irfan Ahmad Rather, a resident of Shariafabad in south Kashmir, has asked her son to come back home at the earliest. “For God’s sake, come back. Have pity on me. Remember how I nursed you? Why don’t you remember my sufferings? I will do anything for you. Come back, my Irfan,” she says in the video widely shared on social media on Tuesday.

Shariafabad is the village of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, who was killed by security forces in July 2016.

A Class 12 student, Rather went missing more than a month ago to join Hizbul Mujahideen, police said. “His mother has appealed, we are also trying for his return,” Awantipora SP Mohammad Zaid said.

The second message is for Sajad Ahmad Shah, who hails from north Kashmir’s Handwara. His mother asked him to shun the gun for the sake of his newborn son, his ill father, and two unmarried sisters. Shah went missing on October 8 after visiting his shop in Langate.

Phone calls and messages to Handwara SP Gulam Jeelani for his reaction were unanswered.

In a renewed push, security officials are asking families and friends to encourage local boys to return to the mainstream. But the Lashkar-e-toiba on Tuesday said no militant will return home, accusing armed forces of compelling family members to issue appeals.