Pahalgam tragedy: killing of twenty-six tourists by terrorists after asking their names has shaken the entire country; Don’t consider Kashmiris as enemies: CM Omar Abdullah,  Government’s trust in Kashmir backfires

Pahalgam tragedy: killing of twenty-six tourists by terrorists after asking their names has shaken the entire country; Don’t consider Kashmiris as enemies: CM Omar Abdullah,  Government’s trust in Kashmir backfires

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: On April 22, 2025, a number of terrorists in a beautiful meadow of Pahalgam, killed nearly 26 tourists, mostly belonging to the majority community of the country, and a local, Adil, while giving huge injuries to nearly 20 persons. This attack by the terrorists after asking the identities of the tourists in addition to checking the body parts to verify that the tourist is from a particular religion or not has shaken the entire country. The J&K police and NIA have started the investigations into the whole unfortunate incident and a large number of people have been detained because there are reports of involvement of locals in the said Pahalgam attack.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the last ten years, incidents of killing people belonging to the majority community in different states of the country were reported, especially in Bengal, and this trend has still been going on since the onset of militancy in J&K during the early 90s, when Kashmiri Pandits were tortured, murdered, and thrown out of the valley under a big plan of Pakistan and its paid touts, who have been operating from Indian soil for a long time. After the NDA came into power in 2014, many incidents were reported from different places in the country where majority community people were killed, and the same episodes are still going on from Bengal to J&K, but the silence of the union government in taking decisive action against the perpetrators of the violence has raised a big question mark on the union government. Targeting majority community people has become a fashion, unfortunately, despite the fact they always pray for global peace and consider the whole world as one family by following the principles of ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam,’ but the forces inimical to peace in the country seem to have taken undue advantage of the tolerance level of the majority community people. Some famous Bollywood stars a few years ago said that there was a huge intolerance in the country as they spoke those words under the might of political influence.  Now, after witnessing such a massacre against the majority at different places in the country, will the same stars come openly to say a few words? In J&K, which witnessed horrible times due to militancy, minorities always remained the target of anti-national forces. How Kashmiri Pandits were targeted and thrown out of the valley during the early 90s is known to all. Despite that, a large-scale fake narrative was formed against them that they left the valley on the directions of the former governor of J&K, the late Sh Jagmohan. One thing that is really special about some Kashmir based lobbies and that is they are experts in making false narratives to hoodwink everyone, and they have succeeded for years in fooling the entire nation that Kashmiris are known for peace, love, and brotherhood. On the one hand, anti-Indian sentiments, including stone pelting on the security forces, hartal culture, and glorification of terrorists, remained heavy on the Kashmir soil, and on the other hand, they remained expert in playing double roles to befool everybody.  Minorities in J&K were targeted blindly for decades, and this latest incident in Pahalgam has opened the eyes of the entire country and the world, as the terrorists asked for the identity before killing the visiting tourists. Due to the tolerant nature of the majority community people and respect for every religion, they have been taken for granted and have been targeted, unfortunately, at different places in the country. Although the union government has taken some tough measures against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, there is much that needs to be done. The tough measures that have been taken by the union government including closing 48 tourist destinations and giving a free hand to the security forces are just a beginning, as many more surprises are in the pipeline to destabilize the forces inimical to the peace, said sources close to “POONCH TODAY” in the government. If the majority community people continue to suffer one way or the other, the day is not far away when similar situations will force them to stand against evil strongly. They want universal peace, brotherhood, development of the nation, and respect for all, but they have been attacked blindly at different places in the country. From Poonch, Rajouri, and Reasi to different parts of the Jammu region, they were targeted. The government of India did a lot for the people of Kashmir by providing everything for decades, even at the cost of step motherly treatment to the nationalist people of Jammu, but the continuous anti-India episodes operating from the Kashmir Valley have shown that the government of India’s trust in Kashmir has backfired, although the Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, the other day appealed to the people of India not to consider Kashmiris as their enemies. In the special assembly session on 28^th of April, 2025, all the legislators in one voice condemned the incident and assured the nation that J&K stands firmly with the nation in this hour of crisis despite some members  saying that war is not a solution. The assembly also passed a resolution denouncing the Pahalgam attack, resolved to foster peace and harmony. The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah became emotional in the assembly and said that he had no words to express his pain. He said that unless people come openly against militancy, it cannot be finished through guns. Omar  highlighted how the people of kashmir have come wholeheartedly against the Pahalgam terror attack and this thing is not an ordinary thing. He assured that the people of J&K stand with the nation in this hour of grief. He further said, “Acts of terror are a direct assault on the ethos of Kashmiriyat, the values enshrined in our constitution, and the spirit of unity, peace, and harmony that have long characterized Jammu and Kashmir and our nation.” Strongly coming against terrorism, Omar said, “After the Pahalgam terror attack, there must be a decisive fight against terrorism and its origin. People of Kashmir have come out openly against terrorism and the murder of innocent people, they did this freely and spontaneously. It’s time to build on this support and avoid any misplaced action that alienates people. Punish the guilty, show them no mercy but don’t let innocent people become collateral damage.” The nationalist people on social media expressed their anger by saying that it’s a war started by Pakistan against Bharat that needs to be crushed heavily. The statement of the sitting MP from Srinagar during a podcast, which has gone viral on social media, regarding cultural invasion and the indirect threat that the anger of Kashmiri people can come out anytime shows that there is a possible link between the statement of the sitting MP, the controversial statement of former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti on waqf just a few days before the Pahalgam attack, the controversial statement of the Pak Army chief related to two nation theory and the recent Pahalgam attack, and for that, the security agencies are reportedly investigating the matter from all angles. There are a number of videos available on social media  that show how Kashmiris are showing disrespect for non-Kashmiris. A senior female journalist from a nationalist channel, the other day, was openly harassed in the streets of Kashmir, which claims hospitality for all. Leave other episodes of targeting majority community people in different states during the last ten years by the anti-national lobbies; the recent killings of them from ‘Bengal’ to ‘Kashmir’ have forced the government to formulate a new strategy to tackle this growing planned unrest against them being perpetrated by the anti-national forces operating within the Indian territory backed by Pakistan and its related ideological countries, or else the continuous injustice being faced by the majority community people all over the country will force them to stand against this continuous injustice strongly. It’s high time for the union government and the security agencies to form a high-level strategy for the future to ensure peace and communal harmony before it’s too late. The latest Pahalgam terror attack is an eye opener for every Indian, but at the same time, Indians need to adopt a sense of peace, nationalism, and brotherhood and must stand as a single unit to foil the enemy’s design.