J&K youth ignore threats, seek police jobs

Despite the ongoing unrest in Kashmir and ignoring the threat issued by a militant outfit, thousands of its youth have opted for the job of special police officers (SPOs) in the J&K police.

The Centre formally approved recruitment of additional 10,000 SPOs in the restive state on Wednesday, days after home minister Rajnath Singh announced in Srinagar special employment package for the youth in the J&K police as part of the government’s effort to address the issues, including unemployment, which it believes is contributing to the alienation of the Valley’s youth and driving them to streets to join protests and indulge in stone-pelting pastime. Earlier, CM Mehbooba Mufti had also said that as many as 10,000 youth would be absorbed as SPOs.

But the separatists argued that unemployment has nothing to do with the Valley youth showing discontent publicly and asking for “aazadi” or freedom. Syed Ali Shah Geelani who is among three key separatist leaders — the two others being Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik — who have formed an issue-based alliance which is spearheading the current stir in the Valley had alleged that the government by absorbing youth as SPOs is trying to revive notorious Ikhwan militia of 1990s to crush the “freedom movement”.

While they asked the youth to ignore “enticement aimed at breaking their ranks’, militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen chose to issue threat to those who wished to join the police force. One of its commanders, Riyaz Naik, in an 11-minute video placed on social networking sites in the last week of August termed it “conspiracy” by which India wants to weaken “our freedom struggle”. He said, “They want us fight with one another. Neither India has any concern about our youths’ employment nor does it need our youth.” He added, “It is same India which martyred lakhs of our youth, made thousands of our youth lose their eyesight, and dishonoured our women. We will not forget these sacrifices and will not allow anyone to betray the sacrifices.”

He then threatened, “Whosoever gets appointed as a SPO should also be ready to face the consequences.”

Naik also asks the J&K cops to stay at home and not to be part of the measures aimed at containing the on-going unrest in the Valley.

“We appeal police personnel to sit at their homes like the employees of other departments are doing. The fate of the policeman who attends duty will be nothing but death.”

But the threat has been ignored by, at least, more than 5,000 youth who have after the posts were advertised recently filed applications and appeared for fitness tests for the posts in various district deputy commissioners’ offices across the Valley, officials said on Wednesday. SPOs are engaged on a small monthly salary of 6,000 — raised from 3,000 a month since January this year.

The officials said that interestingly the highest number of youth who have applied for the SPO post are in four districts of South Kashmir: Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian which have been worst hit in the ongoing unrest triggered by the killing of the Hizb commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani on July 8. Nearly 90 people have been killed and over 13,500 injured in security forces’ actions against protesters and stone-pelting mobs during the past about eleven weeks and most of these deaths took place in these south Kashmir districts. Officials said that while the highest number of 2,334 applications were received in Anantnag, as many as 1,363 youths filed applications for the post of SPO in Srinagar district.