It was again a week of mourning for the Kashmir. Before this week of mourning there was a lull and a fragile peace waiting to be torn as usual. Two young boys were lost to the ongoing conflict. While one was a 32 year old school teacher from South Kashmir and died in police custody, the other was just 12 year old boy held hostage by the trapped militants in North Kashmir’s Hajin town.
The twin deaths were quite horrible and people had goose bumps after listening the twin tales. Rizwan Ahmad Pandith believed to be a Jamaat Ideologue was picked up by the policemen at his residence for questioning. Jamaat stands already banned for five years by Government of India and its over 300 ideologues are put behind the bar in a major anti Jamaat crackdown. He was lodged at notorious Cargo interrogation centre in Srinagar. With the onset of insurgency in Kashmir this torture centre was synonym to the brutality and pain with hundreds of people during 1990’s being suspected for having militant links detained and receiving third degree torture. However, the centre was later modified after the decline in militancy and upgraded as technical information cell where digital operations are undergoing to crackdown the militancy and separatist activities. However, it still posses the space for the detention of suspects and in past several years’ reports also surfaced of torture to the accused and detainees. Pandith according to his family members have succumbed to the severe torture inflicted on him by the security forces. The family members said that his body bore the brutal injury marks all over that suggested Pandith had been subjected to third degree torture and subsequently resulted into his death. While the government maintained the grim silence over this custodial death, however rightfully, it evoked strong condemnation across the section of people. All political, and social and human rights organizations condemned the brutal killing of a young teacher in police custody. And it is true that such incidents can potentially vitiate the fragile peace in valley. This regime of the day must ensure such incidents never ever take place again in Kashmir that amounts to gross human rights violation. However, only after few days another bone chilling incidents came to light when two militants trapped in Hajin town had held two civilians uncle and his nephew hostage apparently to halt the counter insurgency operation launched by security forces against them. While security forces evacuated the elder man, young Atif Shafi Mir was not allowed to go though the militants were pleaded by his family members including a mother. According to army the operation was put on halt for over nine hours to convince the militants to let young boy go. But the wait only ended up in disenchantment after they launched the assault against trapped militants and the young Atif along with two militants got killed. Barely a few hours later when the Atif’s charred body was discovered under the debris along with two militants, his charming picture with innocent eyes started making circles on social media and breaking millions of hearts. An awful expression was everywhere on social media websites for the death of this budding bloom. However, unlike Pandith’s killing over which separatists called for complete shutdown next day, there was no such act for this innocent killing? The outrage in Kashmir is selective and so is the mourning. Coffins are discriminated and ideologies are prioritized over humanism. Humanity stands low and politics thrives. This confusing and discerning mindset may never let us able to win wars but it will continue to divide us and push us to the walls. Any human loss is worth condemnation. Those who killed Pandith deserve the strongest punhiment under law but Atif’s mother too deserves an explanation from us.
