By Hanan Zaffar
Srinagar: A Kashmiri Pandit organisation ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reconciliation Front’ staged a one day hunger strike here in Srinagar against the killing of civilians by security forces. The strike, according to Front’s chairman Dr Sandeep Mawa, was to express solidarity with Muslims of Kashmir and urge both India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir dispute.
Talking to a local daily Kashmir Observer Parwa said “Jammu and Kashmir has suffered a lot during last 28 years. I understand that there has been death and destruction due to vested interests but I am more worried about the criminal silence of civil societies and intellectuals. How long will we suffer. Killing cannot be the order of the day. Enough is enough how long as a Hindu would I be insensitive to these developments”
Alleging that New Delhi is rewarding people who kill Kashmiris, Parwa called for an immediate halt to the killings by security forces.
It is pertinent to mention that there have been thousands of civilian causalities in the Valley over the past three decades of the conflict. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society there have been over 70,000 killings, 8000 plus forced disappearances, mass torture and cases of sexual violence committed by Indian armed forces, and these cases have had zero prosecution in civilian courts
Just whetting the appetite to hear some sincere thought, kind words, genuine love for neighboring co-inhabitants was my take. I wish I am not being cynical. It is as “diplomatic” as JLN, who adopts Shaikh Abdullah once as a lion. When the lion opens his mouth, JLN sends him to jail. J&K will not go anywhere with this kind of “shaky trust” in each other. The 21st-century citizenry, including Ms everywhere, ISIS, IS, among many such terrorist organizations are IT savvy to crowd the “social media” with their agenda. It is a lose-lose game. Let us think of W-lose type. Thanks.