Junaid Ashraf Khan holds an MBA degree from the University of Kashmir
A day after he went missing from his home in Srinagar, a picture of a top separatist leader's son holding a rifle surfaced on social media on Saturday. A message with the picture said Junaid Ashraf Khan had joined the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen.
Junaid, 26, is the son of Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai who replaced Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat earlier this week.
Yesterday, the family had lodged a missing complaint with the police after Junaid who left his home for Friday prayers did not return. Junaid holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Kashmir.
Calling Junaid joining the militant ranks unfortunate, Jammu and Kashmir's top cop has urged the Hurriyat leader to appeal to his son to given up the gun.
"I hope Mr Sehrai will appeal to his son to return and give up violence," said SP Vaid, the director general of police.
Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai is the first top separatist leader whose son has joined militancy. The family or the Hurriyat is yet to issue a statement.
Hours after Junaid's gun-wielding picture went viral, another picture of a policeman's son joining the terror ranks appeared on social media. A message tagged along said Abid Maqbool, son of head constable Mohammad Maqbool from Tral had joined the Jaish-e-Mohammed, another terrorist group. There has been no official statement from the state police.
In January this year, a picture of a research scholar from Kupwara posted on social media said he had joinied the Hizbul Mujahideen. Mannan Wani was pursuing his PhD in Applied Geology at the Aligarh Muslim University.
Police sources say 126 young men from the Kashmir Valley joined militancy in 2017.