A distressed cop in a remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, is in search of his juvenile son who is suspected to have joined the ranks of a militant organisation.
His father, Mohammad Ashraf, is desperately looking for a way to save his 17-year-old son. He has been unable to sleep for the past one week.
Naseema Begum, the teen’s mother, told a news agency that, “Kaisar silently sneaked away from his house on the karevas (elevated land) of Tugan village, switched off his phone and disappeared. My son wanted to become a Major by enlisting in the army. On Friday, he was taken away and pushed onto a dark path.”
She added, “He always told me that he wanted to become a Major in the army, and I would ask him to become a doctor… His own passion was to join the army.”
On reaching Tugan with my colleagues, located about 50 km from Srinagar, his distraught father had tears in his eyes. He said to me: “I can’t say anything about all this, please leave. There is a lot of pressure from the department.”
The distressed family has put out videos on social media begging for their Kaiser’s return. They have also appealed to his captors and militant groups to let him return, so that he can pursue his education.
“Kaisar, please come back. Please come back! Your sister is waiting for you. Aren’t you her protector? How can you leave her alone?” appealed Ghulam Mohammad Dar, his grandfather.