kashmiris-reject-violence-carried-in-their-name-sajad-lone

The J&K People’s Conference Chief, Sajad Gani Lone, on Tuesday condemned the Pahalgam attack and said that the people must be engaged positively rather than pushed back by punitive actions.

 

The barbaric attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam has awakened the people of Kashmir, who will no longer tolerate violence, People's Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone said.

 

He said the majority of the rural areas and population are earning their livelihoods from the tourism sector, and this attack has taken away the hopes of those poor people.

 

“We are thankful to our nation, which woke up after 35 years to unequivocally condemn the attack on our guests.

 

“Leaving politics aside, I am of the opinion that the violence has some sort of acceptance in our society as some people have accepted it as a legitimate thing, but their number is continuously declining,” Lone said.

 

Also read: At UN, India condemns Pakistan’s role in Pahalgam attack

 

A former minister whose father and Moderate Hurriyat leader, Abdul Gani Lone, was also assassinated by terrorists, Lone said there was a social sanctity to violence in the Kashmiri society, but that has changed post the Pahalgam incident.

 

“We saw people coming out in every nook and corner to mark the social stigmatisation of violence. The people are no longer ready to accept the violence. This is the start of the end of the social sanctity of violence,” he said.

 

“The biggest challenge for the law enforcers in the last 37 years was, at times, not being able to distinguish between an innocent and a terrorist. For capturing a terrorist, we have seen innocents getting killed and villages burnt down in the past three decades, he said.

“I do not want to make any accusations against anyone, but people like Syed Adil Hussain Shah, who sacrificed his life saving tourists, need to be created in thousands.”

 

Police and the army have a limited role, as it is the residents of this place who will eventually defeat violence. The law enforcers can only contain the violence,” he added.

 

There has been widespread condemnation from all sections of society in Jammu and Kashmir for the barbaric and pathetic attack on tourists.