Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said "mother's love prevailed" to get college student and footballer Majid Arshid Khan, who had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba a week ago, "back home".
Arshid walked into a security camp in south Kashmir last night and surrendered with his arms and ammunition, officials said in Srinagar.
He was whisked away to an undisclosed destination early this morning. The college student, a goalkeeper for his local team in Anantnag in south Kashmir, is believed to have turned to militancy after a close friend was killed in an encounter.
"A mothers love prevailed. Her impassioned appeal helped in getting Majid, an aspiring footballer back home. Every time a youngster resorts to violence, it is his family which suffers the most (sic)," Mufti said in a post on Twitter.
The chief minister said that she understands the predicament of the youths who joined militancy, but the "fear of social stigma" clouds their judgement.
"I understand the predicament of young boys who have strayed into militancy. Most realise the futility of senseless violence and want to return home and live normal lives with dignity.
"But the choice to renounce violence is not an easy one and they find themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea. The fear of social stigma clouds their judgement," she said in a series of tweets.
Police were constantly in touch with Arshid's friends and family members, urging them to put pressure on him to return home.
The surrender follows appeals by his parents and Jammu and Kashmir Police. His parents had gone on television and social media to ask him to surrender.
A video showing his mother Asiya Khan crying and asking him to come home went viral on social media.
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