The use of children for military or militant operations is a violation of various national and international conventions on human rights and children. Article 38 (3) of the Convention of the Rights of the Child prohibit the recruitment of children below the age of 15 to engage in hostilities.
But this is not the first time that young children have fallen prey to the violence in Kashmir. On 9 December 2018, 16-year-old Saqib Bilal and 15-year-old Mudasir Rashid were shot dead in a massive encounter on Srinagar outskirts in which seven houses were also destroyed. Both were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit.
Before his foray, 16-year-old Faisal, who was killed just two days after joining Al-Badr militant outfit, was, as per police sources, in contact with Asif Bashir Ganie, who lives in their neighbourhood.
“He might have radicalised him to take up arms, otherwise there is not a single case against him,” a senior police officer said, wishing anonymity.
Prof Noor A Baba, a senior political analyst based in Srinagar, said the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities is 18 years.
“International humanitarian laws expressly forbid armed groups from using children as combatants. It is primarily the responsibility of parents to keep a watch on their children but this (death of Faisal) needs introspection at societal level,” Prof Baba, who taught political science at the University of Kashmir, said.
(Jehangir Ali is a Srinagar-based journalist. He tweets at @gaamuk.)
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