Ensure innocent Kashmiris don’t bear brunt of war on terror: Omar, Mehbooba, Lone

SRINAGAR: The required war on terrorism mustn’t make innocent Kashmiris collateral injury, Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone have warned amid an enormous crackdown on terrorists, together with demolition of their household properties, within the Pahalgam assault aftermath.
“Punish the guilty, show them no mercy, but don’t let innocent people become collateral damage… There must be a decisive fight against terrorism and its origins. The people of Kashmir have come out openly against terrorism. It’s time to build on this support and avoid any misplaced action that alienates people,” Omar mentioned.
Earlier, National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi alleged on X, “Kashmir and Kashmiris are being given collective punishment.”
Mehbooba mentioned the Union govt ought to tread rigorously and keep away from alienating innocent individuals whereas performing in opposition to terrorists. “There are reports of thousands being arrested and scores of houses of common Kashmiris being demolished along with those of militants.”
She urged the Centre to direct the authorities to make sure that innocent individuals are not made to bear the brunt, as alienation aids terrorists’ objectives of division and worry.
Lone mentioned that utilizing “collectiveness to define criminality or terrorism is a curse and will never allow reconciliation and social introspection.”
“The mass protests against the Pahalgam killings were a rare occurrence, a first of its kind in the last 78 years. It showed a shift in mindset — from a society in which some significant sections may have accorded social sanctity to the concept of violence, to a society which marched in thousands across villages and towns condemning violence, thereby signifying the social stigmatisation of violence,” he mentioned.
“This is a monumental shift, a milestone. But at the same time, a fragile shift. I hope those in charge of law and order do understand the significance of the shift and don’t do anything erroneously that impedes the shift or facilitates a return to the earlier mindset.”
He mentioned there’s a normal feeling throughout the Valley that whole households are being punished for the actions of one individual.