Indian security forces have killed at least four more Kashmiris, as violence returned to the Indian-held territory on Friday and Saturday. The number of civilians killed since June 11 has now climbed to more than 20, with countless injured and hundreds of people thrown into jails. But evidently neither New Delhi nor the Delhi-backed chief minister is willing to learn from the deaths and try earnestly to find out the reasons behind the new wave of protests that has rocked the valley.
Most shocking was Omar Abdullah’s remark on Thursday when he asked the Kashmiris to call off the protest because it was causing “discomfort” to the people. Here are Kashmiris in a state of rebellion. They have rendered sacrifices in blood for the sake of freedom, because they want to be masters of their destiny. India, on the other hand, has deployed 700,000 troops in the valley to keep them in bondage. That the Kashmiri stir is urban-based is obvious, and not even the most rabidly pro-India elements abroad have detected a foreign hand in the uprising. Even sections of the Indian media admit that the protest is indigenous, with urban youths in the lead. Against this background, one is shocked that Mr Abdullah should refer to this struggle as “discomfort”.
The violence and human rights abuses have finally drawn the attention of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who on Wednesday asked Pakistan and India to start talking to resolve the Kashmir dispute. It need not be repeated that Islamabad has never shied away from talks on Kashmir to seek a peaceful solution to the dispute. One wishes New Delhi, too, had the wisdom to realise that killing Kashmiris is no solution to the problem and the only way out are sincere and purposeful talks with Pakistan and the Kashmiris.
