The spectre of targeted killing of minority civilians in Kashmir has returned to haunt them in a big way

Bringing back the dark memories of 1989, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has deteriorated dramatically and violently. Since January this year, the  Valley has seen at least 16 targeted killings. Minorities, civilians and Government officials are being targeted apparently because the locals have ceased adhering to diktats of the militants. Ironically, by attacking people whose right to stay in Kashmir is questioned by terrorists, they are creating an environment for Kashmiris to be assaulted outside the UT. The frustrated militants have changed their strategy to target unarmed police officers and innocent citizens, especially women. The use of pistols in these murders is on the rise since these are easy to conceal and carry. There has been an uptick in terror activity, with missing local youth constituting a huge security threat. In the Valley, there are around 160 terrorists, 70 of whom are local militants and 90 are foreign operators. Conservative estimates put the number of ‘hybrid terrorists’ at around 50. ‘Hybrid terrorists’ are agents who are not on any terror watch list but have been radicalised enough to carry out a strike before resuming their normal lives.

Pakistan is said to be ensuring that weaponry reaches these militants. Despite the fact that numerous such consignments were seized, many of them ended up in the hands of hybrid terrorists. Since Kashmir is gripped by a terror psychosis, a senior cop claims that the J&K Police has also been targeted. Off-duty officers have long been easy prey; nine cops have been killed so far this year, compared to 20 in 2021. On the political front, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has blamed the Union Government, saying it is repeating the mistakes from 1989. “They don’t allow local politicians to speak out and such things are giving way to terrorism,” he observed. What the Centre now needs to do, through its appointee Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, is to reach out more to the Muslim-dominated local population. In the immediate aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370, we had seen the younger generation of Kashmiris apologising for the mistakes their ancestors had made and saying that they were ready to atone for the bloody past by making up to the Kashmiri Pandits now and making them feel welcome back into the Valley. It’s time they rose above the rhetoric and walked that talk!