The killings happened 48 hours after three civilians were shot dead by TRF militants. Among the victims was Makhan Lal Bindroo, a Kashmiri Pandit and owner of Srinagar’s famous pharmacy. He was killed at Haft Chinar near Iqbal Park, an area dotted with police and paramilitary camps. An hour after Bindroo’s killing and 8km from Haft Chinar, Virender Paswan, a hawker from Bihar, was shot dead by militants of the Islamic State Wilayah Hind at Lal Bazar. Soon, news of another killing came in—that of Muhammad Shafi Lone, head of a taxi drivers’ union at Shahgund in Bandipore. On October 11, five Army personnel, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), and two militants were killed in four encounters in different parts of the union territory.
Since this January, 28 civilians have been killed by militants in Kashmir. Five belonged to the local Hindu and Sikh communities, two were Hindu labourers from other states; the remaining 21 were Kashmiri Muslims active in political parties, mostly the BJP.
The recent target killings have triggered panic among the minorities and non-Kashmiris. It also punctured the BJP’s claim of having restored peace in Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019. Many compare the current situation with that of the 1990s when Pandits fled Kashmir following attacks on the community and the dread of militancy.
This story is from the October 24, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the October 24, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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