By Dr. Abdul Ruff
For years now, Kashmir valley has been restless as Kashmiri Muslims get killed or keep disappearing: while some of them are killed by police in so-called “encounters”, a couple of them are found dead, but most of them leave no traces. The cluelessness about them makes their parents and relatives nervous and vulnerable. Occasionally reports reveal the discovery of secret graveyards in Kashmir.
India administered Jammu Kashmir has been on the boil for quite some time now as freedom groups keep demanding sovereignty from India while India rejects the demand as unrealistic. This crisis cum conflict has led to the death of over 100,000 Kashmiri Muslims as the Indian forces keep attacking the protesting Kashmiris, calling them the terrorists, insurgents and outsiders.
One may call the plight of Kashmiris as deadly or unfortunate but Kashmir continued to be on the boil with six more people, including a cop, getting killed in violence, raising the death toll to 21, even as curfew-like restrictions were in force and mobile internet services remained suspended. Amarnath Yatra also remained suspended for the second day from Jammu due to the Kashmir unrest in which over 200 people, many of them police and security personnel, have been injured. However, the yatra from the base camps in Kashmir continued.
The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, headed by PDP supremo and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, met and expressed anguish over the situation and the death of civilians in clashes with security forces in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
The government promised to investigate if there was any instance of disproportionate use of force by security forces even as it appealed to the people not to become tools in the machinations of instigators of violence. The Cabinet also appealed to separatists, including Hurriyat Conference, as well as mainstream political parties like National Conference, Congress and CPI(M) to help restore normalcy “if they want peace in the state”
In Delhi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the situation that has developed in Kashmir and spoke to Mehbooba Mufti, assuring her of all possible help. The state police also urged protesters not to resort to violence, saying it does not bring the right consequences, and that it would like to avoid the killing of the youth. Even as curfew-like restrictions remained in force, violence was reported from a number of places.
One person was killed on Sunday evening in reported firing by security forces in Tengpora in Srinagar, marking the first death in the capital city. An 18-year-old youth Irfan Ahmad Malik was critically injured in clashes between protesters and security forces at Newa in Pulwama on Sunday morning, a police official said. He was rushed to SMHS hospital in Srinagar but succumbed to injuries.
An unidentified person was brought to district hospital in Pulwama in a critical condition but succumbed to injuries, he said, adding efforts are on to ascertain his identity. A police driver Feroz Ahmad was killed after a mob pushed his mobile bunker vehicle into river Jhelum at Sangam in Anantnag district, the official said. Efforts were on to fish out the body of the deceased cop.
One more civilian was killed in a clash with security forces while another, who was injured on Saturday, succumbed to injuries on Sunday, police said. In another incident, a head constable of police was shot in both legs by militants last night at his residence in Tral area of Pulwama district, the official said. Three policemen, who went missing after a large mob attacked a police station in Damhal Hanjipora on Saturday, are still untraceable, said state Education Minister Naeem Akhtar, who is the government spokesman.
One more police post was burnt by some mobs on Sunday. A police spokesman said the situation in valley remained under control on Sunday though incidents of arson and mob attacks were reported.
Earlier, there used to some steps, unwilling though, taken by the central government to resolve the Kashmir issue and even discussed about the modalities of resolution and at times it was rumored that India was considering to retain Jammu and Ladakh regions and leave the Kashmir region for Kashmiris to establish a new Kashmir state but no concrete steps were undertaken to give life to those rumours. Then there is the demand for a referendum to decide the fate of Kashmir. The proposed referendum is let the Kashmiris decide between India and Pakistan and there is no option for an independent Kashmir for Kashmiris to live in.
But then last couple of years India has been sticking to a statement that Jammu Kashmir is an integral part of India and India does not want to discuss the issue any more, thereby trying to put an end to the freedom struggle in the reverse gear.
Kashmiris parents are worried about the targeted murder of their children by Indian military forces. What makes them perturbed is that their elected government is supporting the central government’s repressive measures targeting Muslims in the valley and worrying only about high caste Pundit Hindus of Kashmir whom New Delhi seems to considers as pure Indians.
Indian hatred for Kashmiri Muslims is not any new information for the world. Unfortunately, murder of Kashmiri Muslims either in Kashmir is happy news for New Delhi and for the media lords in India.
