News of promising Kashmiri football player Majid Khan’s decision to quit the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and return to the mainstream after an impassioned plea from this mother caught the attention of the national media last week.
For Majid, who probably thought that his dreams of pursuing a career in football fizzled out with his decision to join a terrorist organisation, matters have taken a really positive turn.
In a heart-warming gesture, Indian football legend Baichung Bhutia has written a letter to Jammu and Kashmir Football Association, offering his services to Majid so that he can pursue his dreams.
“I have already touched base with the J&K Football Association offering him to train with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi. I want him to train under my coaches and then we can decide where he stands as a player. I believe he deserves an opportunity and hence, felt best to open the doors for him,” Bhutia told the Hindustan Times.
India’s most capped player believes that the ‘beautiful game’ can offer the promising goalkeeper avenues to start a new chapter in his life.
“Once you start kicking the ball again, you never know, your lives may just kick-off again,” Bhutia added. “We want Majid to come back to normal life eat the earliest.”
Last week, a video of 20-year-old Majid’s mother pleading with her son to return went viral on social media. It was a gut-wrenching video, with his mother seen crying and begging him to return home.
Read also: Selected From 100 Applicants, 2 Kashmiri Youths to Be Trained in Pathan Brothers’ Academy
Following the video, many of his friends and relatives also began pleading with him to reject the path of terror. Reports indicate that Majid decided to join the terror organisation after a close friend was killed in a firefight with the Indian security forces earlier this year.
Authorities in the state have clarified that no charges were brought against him on his return home, “having realised the folly of the path he had taken”.
In such times, both the authorities and the general public would do well to ensure that Majid can return to a normal life as seamlessly as possible without undue harassment.
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