Delhi shouldn’t take aggressive policies promoting violence

Kashmir Media Service,Dawn

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) in Indian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday warned New Delhi against pursuing aggressive policies that promote “the worst kind of violence”, saying they cause youths to turn to armed resistance.
After Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi said he was giving Indian soldiers a “free hand” in the wake of the Pulwama attack, Kashmiris have reported increased harassment in various parts of India and occupied Kashmir. The harassment is particularly targeted towards Muslim Kashmiris.
Times of India on Wednesday reported that a few hotel owners in Agra have put up pamphlet, asking Kashmiri tourists to remain away.
JRL leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik in a joint statement issued after a meeting in Srinagar said that the “aggressive policies of India and a ban on political dissent are pushing Kashmiris to the wall and promoting the worst kind of violence”, the Kashmir Media Service reported.
The JRL leadership said the oppression of Kashmiris was the main reason behind the region’s youth choosing a path of armed resistance against brutal Indian occupation forces.
Referring to Indian Corps Commander Chinar Corps Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon’s comments, JRL leaders said convincing Kashmiri youths to refrain from going down the path of armed resistance was not in the hands of their parents or political leaders.
According to NDTV, Lt Gen Dhillon had asked “all the mothers of Kashmir to please request their sons who have joined terrorism to surrender and get back to the mainstream. Anyone who has picked up the gun in Kashmir will be eliminated, unless he surrenders.”
The ball in fact lies in the court of the Indian political and military leadership who have choked every little space for political dissent in Kashmir, the JRL said.
Hindu hardliners ransack Muslim properties
The Kashmir Media Service today also reported that Hindutva groups in occupied Kashmir had ransacked and burned millions of rupees in properties of members of the Muslim community settled in Poonch.
The Hindutva rioters also raised provocative anti-Muslim slogans in Poonch’s Mohalla Alapir area and destroyed dozens of cars and other property.
Although some locals managed to catch the rioters on camera, they claim that police has yet to act and no arrests have been made, KMS reported.
Although the incident had occurred on Feb 15, it was not reported earlier since the Indian government has shut down internet services in the region, the report added.
Suspension of internet services is a common tactic employed by the Indian government to quell dissent and hinder the spread of information in Kashmir.
Lodhi apprises UN chief on regional situation
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi called on United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the UN on Wednesday, Radio Pakistan reported.
During the meeting, she briefed Guterres about the latest developments and the situation in occupied Kashmir and asked him to play a role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.
India has alleged that those who planned the attacks had links with the Pakistani state — a charge that Pakistan has vigorously denied. Prime Minister Imran Khan extended an olive branch to Delhi yesterday, promising to take action on actionable intelligence provided by the Indian government, but Delhi spurned the gesture.
Read more: India spurns PM Khan’s olive branch, says offer to investigate is ‘lame excuse’
Lodhi also called on UN Security Council President Anatolio Ndong Mba and briefed him about the situation in the region and the premier’s offer to India.