16-year-old Kashmir militant’s pre-suicide attack video goes viral

As 2017 drew to an end, the Kashmir valley woke up to a bloodstained Sunday, the day before New Year. A 24-hour encounter between security personnel and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district resulted in the death of 5 CRPF personnel and three militants.

On Monday evening, a video featuring one of the killed militants – Fardeen Ahmad Khanday – surfaced on social media and went viral. He was believed to be planning a suicide attack.

In the 8-minute video, 16-year-old Khanday, clad in a brown pheran, sits cross-legged with three assault rifles and a collection of arms and ammunition, including grenades. Appearing calm and composed, he looks straight into the camera and says “by the time this video reaches you, I will be a guest in heaven”.

Speaking fluent Urdu, Khandey urges the youth of the Valley to join the JeM. He calls Islam the ultimate way of life – “jihad is a basic pillar of Islam besides ‘farz’ (mandatory) for a Muslim”. He goes on to explain that the “importance of jihad increases when infidels occupy your land and threaten the modesty of our women”. He also adds that militancy in Kashmir has no connection with unemployment and that such claims are maliciously manufactured by New Delhi.

Khandey ends his monologue by citing examples of the Pathankot airbase attack, Pulwama police lines attack and hailing, among others, JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and Afzal Guru, convicted and hanged for his role in the Parliament attack.

A local daily, Kashmir Observer, pointed out that a video in which a militant records his message before launching an attack is the first of its kind and security agencies are analysing the footage. Even though Khandey is the fourth boy from his village to join militancy, local newspaper Greater Kashmir reported that a police official in Pulwama said Khandey was the first local to be motivated to engage in a fidayeen attack. Earlier, only non-local militants were involved in such attacks, he said.

An article in Scroll.in explained that “fidayeen” is an Arabic term translating to “those who sacrifice themselves”. “It is used to describe suicidal attacks that are launched with the intention of a prolonged stand-off, with the militants inflicting maximum casualties on the security forces before being killed. There is little scope for escape,” it said.

Khandey, the son of a J&K constable, was killed three months after joining militancy. Before picking up the gun, he was a student of Class 10 at Iqra English Medium School in Tral.

Hometown of the poster boy of militancy Burhan Wani, Tral is known to be a hotbed of such activity. Local newspaper Greater Kashmir reported that Khandey is the fourth boy from his native village Nazneenpora to have joined militancy.

A month after Khandey had disappeared, a picture of him appeared on social media. In the image, he was seen posing with an AK-47 gun with ‘Jaish-e-Mohammad’ inscribed at the corner of the picture.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, a police official claimed they had expected an attack by the JeM to avenge the killing of their leader Noor Mohammad Tantray on December 26.

On Monday, the streets of Nazneenpora village thronged with mourners during Khandey’s funeral. He was laid to rest amid slogans of “Go India, go back”, “hum kya chahte hai? Azaadi” and “Musa, Musa, Zakir Musa”.

Today, Tral continues to observe a complete shutdown for the second consecutive day. All shops, business establishments and private offices remain shut while transport is suspended.

On December 31, the day of the encounter, J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted her “deepest condolences to bereaved families of the 4 CRPF jawans who lost their lives in Pulwama”.

On the same day, former CM Omar Abdullah tweeted: “As the year draws to a close we get a terrible reminder of how bad things are in the valley. My condolences to the families of the CRPF personnel killed in the attack.”

Meanwhile, senior NDTV reporter Nazir Masoodi tweeted on Sunday that “the video released by 16 year old Jaish militant Fardeen (son of a policeman) before launching fidayeen attack on CRPF camp explains level of religious motivation and indoctrination. The 8 minute sermon before his death is about creating a martyrdom cult. Scary.”