‘Pulwama attack a fallout of Indian policy in held Kashmir’

LAHORE : The Pakistan and India chapters of Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) condemned the attack by a group in Lethapora, Pulwama, Indian-held Kashmir, that killed 40 personnel of Indian paramilitary forces and wounded at least 44 others.

“We express our deep condolences to the victims’ families, Indian government and the Indian people for the loss of lives in the attack,” PIPFPD stated in a press statement.

All civilised societies must prevent bloodshed and condemn it, Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy said.

It is equally important to understand the genesis of the attack and find ways to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future. It is also important to make sure that violence and war are not irresponsibly perpetuated in the name of avenging the blood of the deceased.

It said that in line with its principled position, PIPFPD unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and believed that such acts could not be justified on any ground.

It said, “We consider resorting to such bloody and inhumane methods by any groups and under any pretext and designation and with any intention as unacceptable.”

The PIPFPD’s both chapters jointly demanded that instead of blaming, India and Pakistan conduct investigations into the attack.

The statement said the attack was a clear outcome of flawed Kashmir-centric policies of the Indian government and the misplaced claims of wiping out militancy from Kashmir.

The rigid muscular policy pursued by the government of India without any attempts for a political outreach have created conditions that are conducive to militancy, it said.

Excessive repression in the Kashmir Valley, particularly since 2016, with men, women and children being killed and maimed with bullets and pellets, highly disproportionate scale of crackdowns and arrests and increasing graph of human rights violations often pushes young men to pick up the gun.

It is not out of place to mention that militancy is an off-shoot of a deeper malaise including an unaddressed political dispute, subversion of democracy and democratic rights of people and neglect of human rights violations.

Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy has raised the issues consistently, it said, adding the two reports i.e. Blood Censored and Why are People Protesting in Kashmir authored by members of PIPFPD in 2017 and 2018, respectively, had gone on to warn about the worsening situation and the failure of state policies.

PIPFPD called for major steps to ensure end to violence in Kashmir and the sub-continent.

PIPFPD recommended that apart from fighting militants militarily, Indian government must open channels of negotiation with the people of Kashmir and introduce genuine confidence building measures to pave way for a more structured dialogue.

It said New Delhi and Islamabad must resume composite and unconditional dialogue and make the people of Jammu and Kashmir part of the dialogue. “We hope the relevant regional countries will cooperate to cope with the threat of terrorism and jointly uphold the regional peace and stability," PIPFPD statement concluded.