Why the statement by slain terrorist's father is encouraging

He had said that he would not accept the body of an anti-national.

In the aftermath of the Lucknow encounter, there have been two very encouraging statements made by the family members of the accused. Saifullah, who was shot dead in the encounter was allegedly part of a module that carried out the Bhopal-Ujjain train bombing.

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His father, Sartaj who was obviously angry with his son that he would not accept the body of an anti-national. He was praised by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament on Thursday. Sartaj said that the message from the Home minister should be for the entire nation. "Ordinary people like us are being respected by ministers," he said.

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On the other hand, Kadir, the son of Ghaus Khan, the former IAF employee too said that his father should be punished if found guilty. Kadir said a thorough probe should be conducted and if found guilty his father must be punished.

These are encouraging messages from family members. With the threat of terrorism rising with each passing day, there are so many youths who get carried away by ideology preached by terrorist outfits. While dealing with groups such as the Islamic State which thrive on imposing its ideology on the youngsters, such statements by family members are only encouraging and heartening.

Several youths get indoctrinated on the internet with the promises made by the IS. The agencies had always maintained that this war against the IS cannot be fought on the basis of investigation and punishment alone. The elders have a big role to play in telling their children about the evil ways of the IS or any other terror outfit.

Parents, elders and religious leaders have been roped in several times to counsel the youth who have gone astray. They play a big role in preventing their children from joining such groups. This would effectively work better in solving the problem rather than punish the youth.

In such a scenario, the statement by Sartaj is welcome. It delivers a very strong message to many that a criminal or anti-national is not welcome even it is their own. This is a message to all those who believe that the IS is the solution to the problem. If the country has more people such as Sartaj, who knows, a bulk of the problem may just be solved.

OneIndia News