By IANS,
Chandigarh : Rukhsana Kausar, the girl who singlehandedly took on a group of terrorists who barged into her house in a village in the Kashmir valley in September, Friday said the government should make military training compulsory for youngsters.
“Every youngster, it does not matter big or small, should undergo compulsory military training. This is the only way to eliminate terrorism from our country,” Rukhsana told reporters here Friday.
Recalling her experience Sep 27, she said: “I, along with my brother, killed the militant. They were three in number and after entering our house they started beating my parents. I immediately realised they wanted to kill them.
“I thought there would be no use of my life without my parents, so along with my brother I immediately picked up the axe and attacked one of them. We hit him on his head and he fell on the floor. Then we picked up the rifle and started firing and somehow saved our parents.”
Rukhsana killed one militant while injuring the other two, who managed to escape.
Rukhsana and her brother Ajaz Ahmed, who are busy interacting with college students and giving interviews, have been brought to Chandigarh by M.S. Bitta, chairman of the All India Anti Terrorist Front.
“Now I want to sacrifice my life for the nation, so I plead our government to give jobs to me and my brother in the army or (paramilitary) CRPF or BSF so that I can safeguard our borders and directly retaliate against any attack from our neighbouring country,” stated Rukhsana.
She said she was also ready to join the police if she got a posting in Jammu and Kashmir.
“They had offered us a job of SPO (special police Officer), but we refused that offer. One thing is very clear – Kashmir is a part of us and we are not going to part with it,” said Rukhsana.
The militant who was killed was identified as Abu Osama of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for whose arrest the government had reportedly announced a reward of Rs.850,000.
Ajaz, Rukhsana’s brother, said: “It was a desperate attempt to save our parents. We were fed up of the atrocities of these militants. Terrorists have no religion and they are nobody’s brother or relative, they just want to kill others and spread disharmony.”
“One cannot understand the gravity of the problem by sitting here. The situation in my village, Shahdhara Sharief, is really very grim and haunting. Militants regularly come to the houses of the villagers, eat there and take refuge. If anybody dares protest, they simply kill him,” said Ajaz.
Rukhsana’s house is in the Upper Kalsi area in Shahdhara Sharief of Rajouri district, about 190 km northeast of Jammu. She had given up her studies two years ago after failing Class 10 while her brother studied till Class 12.
Bitta said: “I brought Rukhsana to New Delhi from their village on my own. It was an arduous task for us to reach Jammu as no taxi driver was ready to transport the family. Other villagers are not talking to them and the local school is reluctant to admit these students as they fear a militant attack.”
“No political party or individual has given any sort of help to this poor family. There was a reward of Rs.850,000 on that dreaded terrorist Abu Osama, but they have not got even a single penny till date,” stated Bitta.