The macabre killing of some minority community members in Srinagar has expectedly triggered panic in the Kashmir valley. For some it is a grim reminder of 1990s when selective killings by terrorists led to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland. A majority of them still live away from Kashmir, hoping for things to become better so that they can return home.
But should we really see the latest killings as the return of the horrors that had unfolded in Kashmir in the 90s? That does not seem to be the case, but one thing is indisputable: the killings are a desperate attempt by Pakistan-supported terrorists to thwart the BJP-led NDA government’s plan of restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, which was stripped of its special status to ensure its proper integration with the rest of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems as determined to restore the political process in the valley as the terrorists are to destabilize it by use of violence. They have been attacking policemen, army jawans and civilians like cowards. But their designs are unlikely to succeed as the common people in Kashmir crave for peace and development.
They have seen and suffered enough of terrorist violence and know only too well that these merchants of death are being sponsored by Pakistan which has always encouraged separatist activities in the valley. Pakistan’s love for the late Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is well known. His death was condoled by top Pakistani leaders who paid glowing tributes to him.
Towards the fag end of his life, he had become all the more dear to Pakistani leaders. There were reports of Pakistani senate having passed a resolution to award the country’s highest civilian honour, ‘Nishaan-e-Pakistan’ to the former Hurriyat Conference chief. The resolution had also sought inclusion of the nonagenarian leader’s life story in the school curriculum and naming of an engineering university after him.
Significantly, the move to honour Geelani with ‘Nishaan-e-Pakistan’ came just a week ahead of the anniversary of the Modi government’s landmark decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status granted under Article 370. The region was also split into two union territories: J&K and Ladakh.
It was a courageous step that was hailed by the entire country. Prime Minister Modi had cut the Gordian knot in style and corrected a historical blunder. While the move made the Kashmir valley look like an integral part of India for the first time, the people of Ladakh were also happy with the union territory status conferred on them as it meant freedom to make their own choices. The counter-terrorism drive in the valley received a fillip and the ordinary Kashmiri could think of leading a peaceful life and reaping the fruits of development for the first time.
This is obviously not to the liking of the terrorists who have always acted at the behest of their Pakistani masters. The latest killings, though unfortunate, are a part of Pakistan’s nefarious agenda to destabilize attempts of the Indian government to restore the political process in Jammu and Kashmir and establish lasting peace in the region. The killings, however, have made not only the NDA government but also every Indian more determined than ever to wipe out the threat of terror from Kashmir.
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