THIS is apropos the news items ‘Attack on Hindu pilgrims a bid to discredit Kashmir uprising’ and ‘Tolerance is still alive in Held Kashmir’ (July 14).

Given the enigmatic record of Indian agencies to malign Pakistan and disparage freedom movement in occupied Kashmir, the suspicion raised by our foreign office is not unsubstantiated.

Setting aside politics, the response by Kashmiris in the wake of this attack is sensible. Who else can better understand the ineffable pain of the relatives of those killed in the attack on the Amarnath Temple pilgrims than the Kashmiris, who are themselves the worst sufferers of brutalities inflicted upon them for their just demands for the right to self-determination?

They have unequivocally condemned this brutal act rightly calling it as being against their traditional ethos and composite culture of religious harmony. Their incessant efforts for peaceful communal living are laudable.

The fact that this pilgrimage has not been suspended since even once speaks volumes of unremitting cooperation of Kashmiris with Hindu yatris (pilgrims), facilitating them to perform their religious rituals conveniently and satisfactorily.

Kashmiri leaders Syed Ali Gillani, Mir Waiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, in their joint statement have condemned the deplorable incident, terming it against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos. Such positive steps will certainly enhance tolerance and syncretism in Kashmir to promote peace and co-existence of different religions.

The Indian government is urged to stop this senseless aggression against innocent Kashmiris and pay heed to their just demands.

Khadim Hussain Subhpoto

Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2017