Muzaffar Iqbal, 11, shudders to think of the last one year he spent with gun-toting Lashkar-e-Taiba militants in the Pir Panjal mountains of Jammu and Kashmir. He is just one of the hundreds of children who have fallen prey to insurgency in the state. Iqbal was found by the army in an encounter that lasted four days amidst rain and finished with the killing of seven guerrillas, reports Grassroots Features. A trooper spotted someone behind the bushes and called out. To his surprise, out came Iqbal, hands raised and trembling. Abdul Ghani, 13, was rescued by Gujjar community men from guerrillas during the armyâs âSarp Vinashâ operation in Surankote area in the beginning of 2003. The Gujjar boy from Pagai village at the foothills of the Pir Panjal range, which extends from the Line of Control (LoC) to northeast Jammu, had been trained in warfare by the separatists. An official said children are used as informers by the militants because the security forces are less likely to be suspicious of them. Many teenagers, after their escape from guerrillas, have admitted they had thrown grenades in crowded markets.
Perhaps that explains the accuracy problems with grenade throwing that Kashmir Jihadis are renowned forâŠ
Mohammad Altaf, 13, who remained with the militants for more than a year, said, âI and five children worked day and night. We prepared food for the militants, washed utensils. Besides, we were trained in arms and sent to get weapons from hideouts.â Several children have died along the LoC, which divides India and Pakistan, while bringing weapons for the militants. In August 2002, a 10-year-old boy was shot dead by the security forces along the LoC in the Mendhar sector. He was carrying arms from Nikiyal area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. |