J&K youth throng army job rally

“I want to become a soldier because I want to serve my motherland.”

These are the words of 19-year-old student Ishtiyaq Ahmad who walked over 70 km crisscrossing the treacherous Sadhana Pass, which remains closed for six months due to heavy snow, to reach Baramulla on time for the army recruitment rally.

It was Ahmad’s zeal to become a soldier and serve the motherland that brought him second time to the rally in just two years.

Experts say the Kashmiri youth are now actively considering army as a suitable career option.

Nearly 15,000 people turned up at Baramulla rally. Elated by the response, the army said they would hold more such rallies.

Sociologists however, said it was pure economics that was driving youth to join the Army.