National Conference MLA Qaiser Jamshaid Lone on Friday said he once wanted to become a militant after he was tortured and humiliated by an army officer during a crackdown when he was a teenager.
However, senior officers' actions prevented him from joining the militancy and restored his faith in the democratic system.
The senior army officer spoke to him and then counselled him and also reprimanded the junior officer for his professional conduct, Lone said while taking part in the motion of thanks to the LG’s address in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
The incident itself showed how a constructive dialogue can resolve most serious issues, Lone told reporters.
“There was a crackdown in my area when I was a youngster. I must have been a student of the 10th standard. There were 32 youths, including me, who were singled out for questioning,” he said.
Lone also claimed that he was asked by an army officer about a youth who had joined the militant ranks. “I said yes, I know him because he lived in our area.
When I told him that I knew the guy, then he asked me if the terrorist was present in the crackdown. I answered in the negative, and then I was beaten up again." The JKNC MLA said.
He said later a senior officer came and spoke to me on the spot and also spoke with him about his conduct.
“He asked me, ‘What do you want to become in life?’ I told him I wanted to be a militant. He asked me the reason and I told him about the torture I had gone through,” the NC leader said.
He further said that the senior officer rebuked his junior, who had beaten Lone, publically, which reinstated his “faith in the system.”
He said that he later found that out of 32 youths who were questioned that day, 27 of them joined the militancy.
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