Rejecting the bandh call given by the separatists and defying the threat call by the terrorists, hundreds of Kashmiri youth appeared for the ongoing Army recruitment test in Kashmir.
On Sunday, around 1300 youth took the common entrance written examination for junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks of Indian Army at two centres – Srinagar’s Light Infantry Regimental Centre and Baramulla’s Pattan Army camp.
According to reports, while 799 out of the 815 registered candidates took the common entrance written examination in Baramulla, 493 out of 500 candidates wrote the test in Srinagar.
On Saturday, the Army had gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat – the successor to Burhan Wani – along with one more terrorists in an encounter at Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Soon after the killings of the terrorists, stone-pelting and protests started in Pulwama, Khanabal and Anamtnag districts. Curfew was imposed at several places of South Kashmir, internet connection was suspended and prepaid mobile connections were blocked to thwart the protests following the killing of Sabzar. Yasin Malik, leader of the separatist organisation Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) gave a call for a complete shutdown in the valley following the encounter killing of Sabzar. Malik was arrested on Sunday from his home at Maisuma. He is currently locked in Central Jail.
It could be noted that two weeks ago, around 67,000 candidates from the Kashmir valley had appeared for the tests for recruitment of sub inspectors in Jammu & Kashmir police.
The overwhelming response to the Amry recruitment test is a fitting riposte to the terrorists in Kashmir who warn Kashmiri youth against joining the security forces. In a cowardice act, the terrorists had kidnapped and killed 22-year-old Amry Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz earlier this month. Lieutenant Fayaz was kidnapped from his relative’s place when he was unarmed and a day after his bullet riddled body was found in Harmain area of Shopian. The Army called Lt Ummer Fayaz’s brutal killing a “watershed moment” in Kashmir.