Ashiq Hussain

Heart breaking when a family saves for years to realise their dream of visiting Kashmir... and face their worst nightmare.
MEHBOOBA MUFTI, J&K CM

SRINAGAR: Two deaths in the span of 24 hours left Kashmir shaken even as they highlighted the worsening situation in the state.

Even as the state was coming to grips with the death of a young tourist from Chennai, S Thirumani (22), on Monday evening, from injuries sustained when his vehicle came under attack by stone-pelters, another young man, 17-year-old Mohammad Iqbal, injured in firing in the

state’s Shopian area on Sunday, succumbed to injuries in hospital.

Thirumani, the son of an ordnance depot employee, was holidaying with his family in Kashmir. Iqbal was injured in clashes between security forces and protestors on Sunday.

Thirumani was an employee of IT company Accenture in Sholinganallur, a Chennai suburb.

Iqbal had recently appeared in Class 10 board exams. His family ran a small grocery shop. He loved the things most 17-yearolds do, Sabzar Ahmad, a neighbour and a family friend said: Cricket and bike rides. Iqbal’s father is a small-time contractor.

Mainstream politicians including the state’s chief minister and Opposition leaders as well as separatists have reacted with contempt against the perpetrators, while social media, despite the suspension of mobile internet in the region since Saturday, was awash with regret.

“It’s truly heartbreaking when a family saves for years to realise their dream of visiting Kashmir & while they are here they face their worst nightmare. I have no words strong enough to condemn this tragic incident or even begin to condole the family,” chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote on Twitter.

On Tuesday, commenting on Iqbal’s death, she said 15 or 18 was no age for children to die and added that a middle path has to be found to stop the killings in Kashmir. The Joint Resistance Forum, comprising the three main separatist groups in Kashmir, condemned the death of a tourist and said the incident had dented the image of the Valley and its tradition of welcoming guests. “Tourists are our guests and we should be loyal to our Kashmiri and religious traditions by refraining from harassing them,” the statement in Urdu said.

The leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yaseen Malik, said the Valley has for years hosted tourists in the best traditions of Kashmiri hospitality.

People in the Valley, the statement to the press said, should refrain from destroying the basic fabric of Kashmiriyat in the state. They urged people to resume their daily activities from Wednesday and express their resentment against the killings in Shopian by hoisting black flags on their establishments.

“We will consult people from all walks of life to come out with a strategy in context of the ongoing bloodshed and atrocities on people,” the statement said.

Kashmir was observing a shutdown on the call of separatists for the third day on Tuesday against the civilian and militant deaths during two gunfights since Saturday.

Among the five militants killed on Sunday were an assistant professor of Kashmir University Mohammad Rafi Bhat and a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Saddam Padder.

Shops and businesses were closed and public traffic movement was thin. The government also closed schools, colleges and universities to prevent students hitting the streets.

Thirumani was hit by a stone on his head during a stone pelting incident on the Srinagargulmarg road in Narbal area of central Kashmir on Monday when the area was observing a shutdown. He was taken to the Sher-i-kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, where he succumbed. A girl from northern district of Kupwara was also injured in the incident.

“Without a sustained, meaningful dialogue & outreach, not just from the govt but from the entire country, J&K will get pushed deeper into this vortex of gloom. My deepest condolences to the deceased’s family & my prayers go out to the girl who was injured in the same incident,” Mufti said.

The Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed early on Sunday in a police and military operation in Badigam village of Shopian, sparking protests from locals in which five civilians were also killed during clashes with security forces.

The police official said that Iqbal was also wounded in the clashes with government forces in Nagbal near the Badigam encounter site on Sunday.

Soon after the news of Iqbal’s death reached Shopian, there were protests stone-pelting at government forces. As many as 41 people – including militants, civilians and security personnel – were killed in various instances of violence across Kashmir in April. Twenty people have died so far this month.

Ashiq Hussain letters@hindustantimes.com

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 9 May 2018 ; With PTI inputs