Farooq Abdullah, who isn’t new to controversy, has once again delivered a shocking remark while reacting to the targeted killing of Kashmiri Pandit Puran Krishan in Kashmir’s Shopian last week. In a statement that has enraged many people leading to protests by Kashmiri Hindu organisations, Abdullah said that the “killings won’t stop until there is justice”. This is being seen as an offensive remark to support terrorists in Kashmir who are indulging in indiscriminate killings in the Valley to prevent situation from getting normal.
This isn’t the first time though that Abdullah has said something so off the mark. He has a longstanding policy of issuing remarks that are seen as an extension of the Pakistani narrative. In the past he has said that he will continue to advocate talks with Pakistan and that the Government of India must actually engage with its Pakistani counterparts if they want peace. He has even gone to the extent of supporting China’s stand on Article 370 when he said that Article 370 is not acceptable to China. His remarks are seen as irresponsible and demotivating especially for the Indian armed forces because of his tendency to play up Pakistani strength or ask for a dialogue with them.
Since the abrogation of Article 370, targeted killings have rocked the Valley with migrants from other states as well as Kashmiri Hindus being shot dead by the terrorists. The message that the terror forces want to send is clear: Kashmir is only for Kashmiri Muslims with no place for non-Kashmiri people from other states or the Kashmiri Hindus. This is a cruel redux of the violence that was unleashed on Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s at the peak of Kashmiri militancy with cries of “Ralive, Tsalive or Galive” (Convert, Leave or Die) being announced from the mosques in the Valley. The all-time benefactor of these terrorising forces is Pakistan that has long fuelled an insurgency in Kashmir.
Pakistan considers liberation of Kashmir as a “sacred mission”, with its use of religious fundamentalism to fuel communal tensions in the Valley as part of a proxy war against India. Not just Kashmir, Pakistan has also used separatist sentiments in Punjab to support Khalistani terrorists in India. Although India was successful in eliminating the Khalistanis in the 1980s, Pakistani deep state is again fanning the issue with the help of Khalistani organisations abroad. Pakistan’s experience in organising guerrilla warfare is top-notch with not just India but Afghanistan also being a victim of the same.
There is evidence of ISI even siphoning off light weapons meant for jihadi warfare sponsored by CIA in Afghanistan to Kashmir. It has not only trained foreign mercenaries for doing “duty” in Kashmir but it also continues to provide material and moral support to various terror organisations. It uses various mechanisms to fund this proxy war against India despite a precarious economic situation back home. Terror modules are repeatedly busted in the valley with drugs worth crores confiscated from their possession. Its narco-terrorism has assumed a new facet with the use of drones that are sent into Indian territory along with wads of cash, weapons and packets of drugs attached. Pakistan’s dedication to funding terrorism in Kashmir is such that according to their former President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan had even diverted American aid sent to fight war on terror to build up defence against India.
While Pakistan is being implicated at the national and international level for being a state sponsor of terrorism, the fact that a mainstream politician who has also served as the Chief Minister of the state in the past is advocating for talks is deeply problematic. There are continuous references to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus diplomacy or Narendra Modi’s outreach to Nawaz Sharif. But the truth is that little was achieved from both the overtures that India had made to Pakistan. Vajpayee’s peace gesture was responded with a covert war in Kargil, while Modi’s visit to Pakistan was responded with terror attack in Pathankot. Civilian actors in Pakistan have time and again spoken about the role of deep state in conspiring terror activities against India for which they have also faced consequences.
There has been a great shift in India’s policy towards Pakistan under PM Modi. While internally, the government has abrogated Article 370 to spur economic development, equal political status and normalcy in Kashmir, with Pakistan India has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy on terror and ensured its diplomatic isolation by taking initiatives off the SAARC radar to subregional and bilateral platforms.
This change in policy along with India’s growing stature is causing a great degree of heartburn in pro-Pakistan lobbies. The fact that Abdullah can even advocate for dialogue with a state sponsor of terror is outrageous and disgusting to say the least. No peace has ever been built on the dead-bodies of innocent people. Kashmir conflict has been communalised to a great extent, something which is very odd for a secular polity like India. Every other state in the country follows the Indian constitution with equal rights for each citizen. It is high time that the leaders of Kashmir understand this instead of pandering narrative of a state which has a fragile economy and a very divided polity.
The author is a PhD in International Relations from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. Her research focuses on the political economy of South Asia and regional integration. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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