Should Army return Kashmir terrorists’ bodies for Jihad job fairs? Forces mull controlled funerals

(With inputs from Gursimran Singh)

Kashmir: At a time when terrorists are using funerals of their killed associates for recruitment of cadres, the Army and security forces are thinking of imposing a curb on these activities by steps such as not handing over the body or having a controlled funeral, where only a few family members are allowed for the last rites of a terrorist.

The Army's views are coming out at a time when terrorists, two days ago, used the funeral of a terrorist Umer Malik to call more and more youth to join their ranks, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Naveed Jatt, along with a dozen other local terrorists.

"The Army and other security forces are considering several options such as not handing over the body of the terrorists to their families so that such big rallies don't happen and the burial is done quietly, away from public eyes, or call a few members of the family and perform the last rites in their presence without the crowd," a senior government source told MyNation.

However, the final decision in this regard would be taken by the ministry in charge of internal security.

The security forces have been thinking of imposing curbs on these glorified funerals for a long time but till recently, the state government under Mehbooba Mufti has been opposing the move on premise that such a step would alienate the locals.

Sources said that these days the families of the killed terrorists are given a special status in their villages by the terrorists to encourage others also to send their children into the Islamist war against the country.

Attending the funerals of their associate terrorists gunned down by security forces is the new common in the terror-hit valley. This is being used by terrorists to glorify their so-called ‘Jihad’ in Kashmir and to motivate the youth to join their ranks.

Photographs and videos of recently killed terrorist Umar Malik of Lashkar-e-Taiba accessed by MyNation reveal that terrorists appeared in the funerals of the dead terrorists with their AK-47s and from there, inciting a war against the country through hate speech. 

Senior security forces' sources are of the view that because of the heightened vigil along the Line of Control and International Border, the influx of foreign terrorists has dwindled. Hence the terrorists want more and more people to join their ranks and glorifying ‘Jihad’ is the best way to attract the youth.

The terrorists themselves shoot these videos and spread it on social media to attract people and show that they are leading a life with weapons, but this has also helped the army to quickly identify and eliminate terrorists such as Burhan Wani and Sabzar Ahmad Bhat. 

"There was a time when terrorists used to hide their faces but now they openly come to attend the funeral of killed associates to give a message that they are with their counterparts and that too without any check. They are no longer afraid of revealing their identity, which serves their purposes", Brigadier Pradeep Singh (Retd.) told MyNation.

Singh says that this new strategy serves the terrorists their main purpose of reaching to the youth in two ways, first, they glorifying ‘Jihad’ and secondly, by glorifying ‘Jihad’, they want more and more youth to join their ranks.

By appearing at the funerals of the killed terrorists, these terrorists also try to send a message that they are free to move anywhere and do whatever they want. These terrorists are also aware of the fact that they will be shielded by the local residents who take part in the funeral of these terrorists, and that the security forces will not launch any anti-terror operation against them during the funeral of killed terrorists as it could lead to collateral damage. 

 
The security agencies are also aware of the fact and recently a proposal was also floated that bodies of killed terrorists should not be handed over to their relatives, instead they should be buried at an undisclosed location. However, due to the political setup of the state, the proposal could not see the light of the day. But security agencies do agree that funerals of killed terrorists are being ‘misused’ by terrorists to motivate the youth in Kashmir to join their terror ranks.

"
 
"Why did America throw the body of Osama bin Laden into the sea? The reason was that the US didn't want him to be worshipped or seen as a hero after his death. The same should be done here in India," said Singh.