Grim situation in Srinagar
The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has steadily worsened. It has never been as bad as this in the last two decades. The Valley has sunk to such depths of savagery that in Srinagar last Thursday on June 22 during the night of prayers in the holy fasting month of Ramazan, the city witnessed brutalization of the most unwarranted kind. The victim was Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ayub Pandith, from the security wing of the state police, who was supervising security arrangements at the grand mosque from where the chief cleric Mirwaiz Umer Farooq delivers his sermons. The officers and men from his wing do not adorn the uniform. What is extremely unfortunate is that soon after being lynched he was attached with the tag of being a non-Muslim from the intelligence unit. The gambit of the terrorists was to pass off such barbarism against non-Muslims as acceptable. More bloodletting is feared in the Valley in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. The Kashmiri seems to be badly shaken. The lynching is not only a blot on Kashmiri society that prides itself on human values of following the path of peace and love, in keeping with Islamic scriptures. Targeting policemen is a
The officers and men from his wing do not adorn the uniform. What is extremely unfortunate is that soon after being lynched he was attached with the tag of being a non-Muslim from the intelligence unit. The gambit of the terrorists was to pass off such barbarism against non-Muslims as acceptable. More bloodletting is feared in the Valley in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. The Kashmiri seems to be badly shaken. The lynching is not only a blot on Kashmiri society that prides itself on human values of following the path of peace and love, in keeping with Islamic scriptures. Targeting policemen is a
Targeting policemen is a well-known strategy, but the people joining the lynching of a cop on one of the holiest days of the Islamic calendar is a pointer to the extent to which dehumanisation in Kashmir has proceeded. It is time that all the conscience keepers of Kashmir, particularly the separatist leaders and clerics among them, stem this rot threatening to tear apart the already overstrained social culture of tolerance.
"The line between humanity and bestiality has been blurred. The man who was protecting them was lynched," observed state DGP SP Vaid. J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti regretted, what can be more shameful. "J&K police are one of the best in the country. They are brave and display maximum restraint. The day their patience wanes, I believe things will be difficult," she cautioned. Former chief minister and National Conference leader, Omar Abdullah said "May the people who lynched DSP Pandith burn in hell...Such heinous elements are enemies of Kashmiriyat and must get the sternest sentence. J&K Governor NN Vohra has also expressed grave concern over the gruesome killing of
J&K Governor NN Vohra has also expressed grave concern over the gruesome killing of Pandith and the continuing attacks on police personnel. Pandith was attacked after he opened fire in self defence. It brings to the fore the intolerance that characterises the otherwise benign scene in the Jammu and Kashmir capital. Barely a week ago, six policemen were butchered by terrorists who ambushed them. One fails to understand why the enemies of the state like the Mirwaiz are provided a battery of bodyguards at public expense when the role they play is of traitors. The protection given to them must be withdrawn so that they are left to fend for themselves. It is difficult to explain why the central and state governments have been pandering to anti-national elements by offering them all kinds of allurements. By giving them the status of being mass leaders which they are not, the authorities are only lending respectability to the nefarious activities of these men. The killers of Pandit must be brought to book. The perceived alienation echoes in villages where mothers mourn irreparable losses and sons find a rebel within for a cause they are not sure about. The Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama axis is turning out to be the new hotspot of
It is difficult to explain why the central and state governments have been pandering to anti-national elements by offering them all kinds of allurements. By giving them the status of being mass leaders which they are not, the authorities are only lending respectability to the nefarious activities of these men. The killers of Pandit must be brought to book. The perceived alienation echoes in villages where mothers mourn irreparable losses and sons find a rebel within for a cause they are not sure about. The Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama axis is turning out to be the new hotspot of home grown militancy. Police records show that more than 50 militants are active in the twin districts of Kulgam and Shopian. A young Kashmiri Army officer
A young Kashmiri Army officer Ummar Fayaz was kidnapped and shot dead in Shopian; despite the police having identified those behind the incident, they continue to be at large. The Centre's security centric approach coupled with its policy of a bullet for a bullet has failed in J&K. This is also on account of the pull of radical Islam from outside adding a new dimension to the protracted problem. Lack of leadership in the sensitive border state has compounded matters. The imperative need is to restart the dialogue process with all the stakeholders to end the continuing turmoil assuming alarming proportions
