Asking the Centre to act decisively against those targeting Kashmiris, People’s Conference chairman and MLA Sajad Gani Lone on Saturday expressed serious concern over the “harassment” of Kashmiris in other parts of the country. He urged the Centre to treat the issue as a matter of national security rather than isolated incidents.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Lone warned that the growing incidents of harassment of Kashmiris in different parts of the country are eroding the very foundations of national integration and must be treated as a matter of national security rather than isolated law-and-order episodes. “If in our own country we are subjected to this kind of behaviour, then one has to ask a painful question — what is our status in this country?” he said.
He said migration of Kashmiris for work is not a recent phenomenon. “In places like Handwara that he represents in the assembly, at least 25 to 35 per cent of the male population has been living and working in other parts of India for the last 50 to 60 years. Many have purchased homes and built stable lives there,” he noted, adding that these people played a silent but decisive role in strengthening India’s internal cohesion.
“These people were ambassadors of integration,” Lone said, adding, “They believed that their economic future lay within India and they returned carrying that belief. What even 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers could not achieve, these ordinary citizens were achieving every day.”
Describing the recent official action as grossly inadequate, he remarked, “Arresting two individuals when there are hundreds or thousands of incidents is like a drop in the ocean.”
He cautioned against trivialising the issue, stating bluntly, “This is not a small matter. This is a matter of national security.”
Referring to the long-running conflict in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989, the People’s Conference chief said alienating ordinary working Kashmiris would only deepen mistrust. “There has been conflict, there has been bloodshed and there have been graves. At such a time, dismantling bridges of integration is extremely dangerous,” he warned.
Drawing a sharp comparison, he said, “If a Kashmiri child can be booked under UAPA merely for liking a Facebook post, what stops the government of India from booking these rogues under UAPA or PSA?” He appealed directly to the Lieutenant Governor, saying, “Is PSA meant only for Kashmiri Muslims? Use it against those who are anti-integration and spreading hatred.”
Calling for urgent political intervention, Lone appealed to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to view the issue through a national security lens. He also urged the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to engage directly with their counterparts in other states.
In this context, he praised the people of Punjab for showing solidarity with Kashmiris.