Sir,
What has this gun culture given to Kashmir? I remember SAS Geelani saying in a rally that time has come that we should keep guns in our home not TVs. It is a three decades old story. His stubbornness has added more miseries to Kashmir. Mirwaiz Kashmir who is always considered as a moderate leader but unfortunately he too couldn’t do much for Kashmir cause. On the other hand, our mainstream politicians are enjoying power and betraying poor Kashmiris for decades.
The biggest problem with Kashmiris is that we couldn’t produce a leader like Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. No doubt Kashmir dispute affects security in South Asia and is a genuine political issue between India and Pakistan. Giving it a religious color will not be fair. Agencies are playing an active role in brainwashing, radicalizing and recruiting our youth for militant groups. But our young generation should realize that their future lies in peaceful process not in picking up guns! No matter how long we are going to fight with arms one day we have to sit and talk. Even after dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both parties sat together for talks. US fought in Afghanistan for the last 17 years and now they finally share the table with them.
Shah Faisal is an example, though it is too early to say anything about him but we can hope he has started a new process in Kashmir. Solution to Kashmir issue is important, so is the development and future of our young generation. Frequent strikes and encounters are affecting our economy and education of our kids. And it has a psychological impact also on our people. We should look at Imran Khan (PTI) and Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), how they achieved their goals through peaceful and electoral process. We need an honest and dedicated leadership like them.
Dr. Majid Kirmani
on e-mail
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