‘Stone pelters just seek attention’
The poster boy of militancy in Kashmir, Burhan Wani is on his own now as most of his accomplices have been killed, according to police. In an interview with Kashmir POST, IGP Kashmir, Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani said Wani has been quiet in the past eight months “since most of the people around him have been neutralized”. “Now he is on his own with just two or three people around him,” Gillani said. The IGP said 150 to 170 militants, both local as well as foreign militants, were currently active in Kashmir. He said the recruitment of local boys by militant groups had increased last year “and our focus is to contain and prevent them from joining militancy”.
Gillani said the stone pelters indulge in the activity to seek attention. “There are some people who are chronic stone pelters and there are some who pelt stones for fun. But most of them do it for seeking attention. I don’t see any other reason beyond that,” he said. About the appearance of ISIS flags during protests, the IGP said police hasn’t come across any activity of the dreaded outfit in Kashmir apart from the flags being hoisted at some places. “They just seek attention; they get media attention for some time and they know these are the things that are irritating us and they want to indulge in something that would trigger larger attention,” he said referring to the use of ISIS flags by protesting youth, particularly in downtown Srinagar.
