Anjum Bashir Khan has made his family proud 18 years after they were pushed out from their home by terrorists. The 27-year-old has topped the Kashmir Administrative Service exams in Jammu and Kashmir. Anjum was just nine when his home in the remote village of Surankote was set on fire after his parents resisted diktats by terrorists and refused to let his brother join them.
The family escaped from village to Jammu after their home was demolished. After qualifying the state civil service exams, Anjum now wants to go back and serve in Surankote. He says education is the best way to change the fortune of youth and he will work for it in his ancestral area
“There is no point of making it to this service if I’m not able to go there and help people. Becoming an officer is one thing, but what’s important is that you should help your society. The society where from you have come,” Mr Anjum said.
Surankote tehsil was one of the most sensitive and worst hit area in late 90s. In 1999 Anjum father Mohammed Bashir said they faced massive pressure from terrorists on forcing their children to join them. He said he worked hard to give the best education to his children so that they become ambassadors of peace and development in the region.
“I wanted my children to become a symbol of peace for those youth who had joined terrorist groups and help free Pirpanjal region from violence and build infrastructure there,” Mohammad Bashir Khan said.
