JKSA thanks External Affairs Minister

Srinagar, April 1: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) Monday thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for his swift and timely intervention that led to the rescue and repatriation of two dozen Kashmiri youth including Faizan Ahmad of Safa Kadal, Srinagar, who were trafficked and held captive in Myanmar under distressing conditions.

In an official statement, the National Convenor of the association Nasir Khuehami said that these youth, hailing from economically weaker backgrounds, had been misled by fraudulent agents offering fake promises of jobs in Thailand.

Upon reaching Bangkok, they were transported to Myanmar after a 15-hour bus journey and a forced river crossing.

Once in Myanmar, they were held hostage in areas notorious for human trafficking, forced labour, cybercrime networks, and organised criminal syndicates.

He said that the traffickers demanded ransom money from the families of the victims.

In the case of Faizan Ahmad, an amount of Rs 4.5 lakh was demanded with threats of dire consequences.

“His family, already in financial distress, could not arrange the ransom. This was a common ordeal for many of the other victims,” Khuehami said.

The association had formally written to Jaishankar on March 10, seeking urgent intervention.

“We are thankful that the ministry responded the very next day, assuring us that the Indian Mission in Myanmar had already taken up the issue with the concerned authorities,” he said.