From management student to militant: Who was Junaid Sehrai?

Junaid Sehrai, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Nawakadal area of old city Srinagar on Tuesday, was the son of Ashraf Sehrai, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chief and successor of hardliner Syed Ali Geelani.

Just days after Sehrai senior replaced Geelani as the new chief of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in March 2018, picture of his youngest son Junaid posing with an assault rifle went viral on social media. For the last few years, this has been a signature style of local youth in Kashmir announcing that they have joined the militancy.

Junaid’s taking up arms was the first case of a son of a top-notch separatist leader turning to a terrorist in three-decade-old militancy in Kashmir. Originally hailing from north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district, the Sehrai family migrated to Srinagar in the 1990s and are putting up at posh uptown Bagahat locality.

Prior to joining militancy, Junaid had completed MBA from Kashmir University. “He was good in studies and I had never expected that he will become a militant one day and will be killed. Though everybody knew that his father was a leading separatist of Kashmir, Junaid never ever gave an inclination during university days that he has a tendency to pick up arms,” said one of his classmates at the KU, wishing anonymity.

Immediately after his election as the new chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in March 2018, Sehrai had lashed out at those supporting Islamic State (ISIS) ideology, saying it had nothing to do with Kashmir.

“Some elements are creating confusion among masses by raising ISIS flags at the funeral of militants. We have kept a close watch on them, and will soon chart out a plan to stop them after,” he had said then, citing the hoisting of ISIS flags at the funeral of militant Eisa Fazili in Soura area of Srinagar.

Ashraf Sehrai, father of Junaid Sehrai (Facebook page screen-grab)

When Sehrai senior took over as the new chairman of the Hurriyat, Zakir Musa’s ideology of Caliphate was getting popular among radicalised youth in Kashmir. In May 2017, Musa had even threatened to chop off heads of those separatist leaders who claim the Kashmir struggle as political and not Islamic

A senior police officer told DH that Junaid’s joining militancy became a weapon in the hands of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and separatist leadership to counter the narrative that militants in Kashmir were fighting for Caliphate and imposition of Sharia (Islamic law).

“By Junaid’s joining, the top separatist leadership, including Geelani, killed two birds with one stone. Not only Junaid countered rise of Musa and his ideology, but also silenced those voices who were questioning Hurriyat leaders why their sons were not joining militancy,” he said.

The Hizbul is almost as old as the Kashmiri militancy which started in the late 80's. The group is made up almost entirely of local youths and had always campaigned for joining Pakistan.