'Dear Nadeem, please come out': Parents persuade militant son to surrender, he listens

Parents of two newly recruited militants in Kashmir were able to persuade their sons to lay down their arms and surrender after making a desperate appeal during an encounter in south Kashmir's Kulgam.

Srinagar:Two newly recruited militants surrendered before the security forces on Wednesday morning after an overnight encounter in the Hadigam area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The militants surrendered after their parents persuaded them to lay down their arms and come out of the house they were hiding in.

A video of the parents appealing to one of the militants to surrender captures the emotional moment. The mother of one of the militants is seen shouting through a megaphone calling her son to come out and give up arms. "Nadeem, my son! I will ask them to forgive you for your mistakes. Please surrender. Dear Nadeem, please come out. I love you, my son. This is your mother. Where are you?" the mother can be seen appealing desperately to her son.

The militant's father also joins in to persuade his son. "Both CO Sahab and the SSP Sahab are asking you to surrender. They will not hurt you. Deo volente! You will come back," the father says. In the latter part of the video, a police officer can be heard telling the other militant Kafeel that his parents are also at the spot. "SSP Sahab and CO Sahab are giving you an opportunity to surrender. Nadeem and Kafeel, lay down your arms, and come out," the official tells the militants who were holding up in a nearby house in the dark.

On Tuesday night, a joint team of J&K Police, Army and paramilitary forces cordoned off Hadigam village after inputs about the presence of militants there. As the joint team of forces were zeroing in on the target, the militants allegedly opened fire, leading to a gunfight. Police said that during the course of the encounter, they learnt that the militants were locals. They then approached their families and brought them to the site to motivate them to surrender. Following the parents' appeal, both the militants surrendered.

“During the encounter, 02 local terrorists surrendered on the appeal of their parents and police. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered. Further details shall follow,” J&K Police said in a tweet. Interestingly, this is the first such incident in Kashmir in which militants have surrendered this year.