Uneasy calm prevails in Valley

Hovering of jets over the skies in Kashmir has ended as the tensions between India and Pakistan have deescalated. Focus has shifted from war to elections in the country as the largest festival of democracy i.e. Lok Sabha elections have been announced.

Jammu and Kashmir is also going to witness the parliamentary polls but it appears that enthusiasm and fervor are missing in Kashmir. Uneasy calm is prevailing in the Valley and it looks like that everyone is tense. Fear of war breaking out between India and Pakistan and Article 35A being scrapped is over at least for time being but still one cannot say that life in Kashmir has returned to normal.

   

Suicide attack on a CRPF convoy on Srinagar-Jammu highway in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district last month has led to authorities beefing up the security across the Valley. Some harsh steps have been taken to secure the movement of convoys on the roads. It has caused inconvenience to the people but they have no other option but to bear with it.

Electioneering has not picked up in the Valley yet as the mainstream parties are demanding that assembly polls should be clubbed with the parliamentary elections but it seems their pleas have been ignored. A notion is being created that once the parliamentary polls are held situation in Kashmir would become calm and assembly elections will be held in a peaceful atmosphere. Fear which seems writ on every face in the Valley needs to disappear for situation to improve. The tension is in the air and it needs to be diffused.

One question which everyone seems to be asking is would the elections help in restoring peace in the Valley. Authorities adopting a hard posture have put the separatists under tremendous pressure. They are finding it hard to survive as the noose has been tightened around them. It looks like that New Delhi has decided to take the bull by its horns. Crackdown on separatist camp is a clear indication that no one would be allowed to run a poll boycott campaign in the Valley. On the other hand security forces have intensified the operations against the militants in Kashmir. It’s clear that the Government of India has decided to launch a final assault.  But one thing is for sure that this clampdown cannot continue forever and it has to end at some point of time.

People are very much aware about what’s happening around them.  During the past few days political workers have been targeted by the unknown gunmen. It’s unfortunate that people are being fired upon just for their political beliefs.  Violence is begetting violence and it’s not good news for the people of Kashmir. This bloodshed has to end for Kashmir to become a paradise again.

Kashmir has witnessed too much of violence for the past three decades and the gun culture has not yielded any results. It has only created graveyards and an army of widows and orphans. People who talk about Kashmir being an issue need to come forward and sit across the table with the people sitting in New Delhi. They should stop insisting upon inclusion of Pakistan in the talks process. In fact these people should learn a lesson from the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, who immediately after the Balakot air strikes called for peace and expressed his willingness to discuss every issue, including militancy. He (Khan) realized that Pakistan cannot afford a full-fledged war to keep few people in Kashmir and his country happy. He put the interests of his country first and made every attempt to diffuse the tension. He could have easily used the captured IAF pilot as the bargaining chip but he ordered his release as a “gesture of peace.”

Kashmiri leaders need to wake up from the slumber and stop harping about United Nations resolutions which were passed in 1947. Time has changed and almost everyone in Kashmir wants peace to return as the people are tired of shouldering the coffins of their kith and kin. Kashmir and its people have been pushed to brink they want tensions to end so that they could lead a peaceful life. Peace needs to be given a chance so that people heave a sigh of relief and live their lives without any fear and threat.

The writer is a former Journalist & member JK Youth Alliance

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