With an official warning against the “indiscriminate” use of pellet guns against protestors in Kashmir by the Indian Supreme Court as well as renewed civilian attempts to convince New Delhi to negotiate with the separatist leaders, the valley finally seemed to limp towards peace. However, all these hopes for normalcy were shattered on Saturday when an alleged group of militants targeted an army bus in Pampore, killing three soldiers. Since previous attacks on the Indian security forces had sparked an even violent retaliation against the civilians, the recent episode is feared to set forth a vigorous lockdown in the valley.
The last five months have only served to further exacerbate the violent aftermath of the murder of Burhan Vani, a Kashmiri separatist leader, in July. As thousands of young men and women took his cause of an independent Kashmir to the streets, the valley has since then been convulsed in an ever-intensifying blood battle between the stone-pelters and the armed officers. The atrocities committed against Kashmiris have already inflicted a permanent toll on more than 6000 people, including hundreds that had been blinded by shotgun pellets. If implemented again, the constant state of siege that Indian authorities had previously enforced upon those living in the valley — cutting off their access to basic communication, establishing strict curfews, reinstating press censorship — would in turn spark off greater resentment in the Kashmiris, boiling off their simmering rage.
Unrest in Kashmir had once again become the flashpoint for tension between Pakistan and India. In the wake of the continuous ceasefire violations on the line of control, the most recent of which targeted a school bus in the Nakial sector of Azad Kashmir, as well as the heated war of words between Islamabad and New Delhi, another bout of violence in Kashmir would be a death blow to all prospects of peace between the two archrivals. Hence, it is crucial that the Indian authorities do not allow their soldiers to unleash their terror on unarmed civilians.
The growing resentment among Kashmiris cannot be resolved with empty promises alone. These people have been waiting for an opportunity to be heard, to be considered human enough for the last seven decades, and thus, would not be broken down by brute force. It would have helped both Pakistan and India had their governments sat together for the resolution of the issue sans any violence. In lieu of appeasing the bloodlust of hawks on both sides of the border, they could have both shown some restraint for the plight of the Kashmiris, if not for themselves. Not everything is lost even now. If Pakistan and India understand the critical need to make amends with each other, they cannot only significantly de-escalate their respective security crises but also help thousands of Kashmiris trapped amid a decade-old bloody turmoil. *