Police under attack: Why a slew of killings on Eid will haunt Kashmir for a long time
Eid-Ul-Azha, the three-day Muslim festival, marking the culmination of the annual Haj pilgrimage, is over. But the killing of at least five persons, including three policemen in restive Kashmir, during the big days will haunt the Valley for long.
The festival where animals are sacrificed to symbolise the supreme sacrifice of prophets Hazrat Ibrahim and his son Hazrat Ismael, saw humans bleeding to death at the hands of Islamist militants.
It was August 22, the first day of Eid.
Much like his fellow Muslims, Muhammad Ashraf Dar, working as an inspector with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, was enjoying the festival with his family — his wife, two sons aged eight and six and his eighteen-month-old daughter — at their residence in Pulwama district.
By sunset, two policemen and a BJP leader had been killed in separate militant attacks in same south Kashmir region, a hotbed of new-age militancy.
Unmindful that he could be the next target, Ashraf left home to offer Isha prayers at a nearby mosque. The other family members stayed behind preparing for the blessed dinner as was expected on the Qurbani Eid.
A few minutes later, two armed militants, believed to be in their 20s, forced their way into the house, and pushed the family members into kitchen, where they were beaten up and held captive at gunpoint.
The militant-duo equipped with a pistol and a knife inquired about Ashraf’s whereabouts. Fearing that her husband could be next in the list of over 1,600 cops who lost their lives in last 30 years of armed conflict, Ashraf's wife tried to dodge their questions, saying that he would return home late and thus they should come later.
But as the fate had it, in a few moments, he returned from the mosque to be caught unaware. Trapped, the unarmed policeman tried to plead his innocence before the militants.
Amid cries for mercy from the hostage family, there was an argument that ended with multiple gunshots rattling the house.
Sharing details, Deputy Inspector General of Police south Kashmir Amit Kumar told DailyO that Ashraf was shot in the face at least five times, leaving him dead on the spot.
The next evening, there was more bloodshed. Unidentified gunmen shot dead Tariq Ahmed, a forest guard while he was offering Isha prayers in his kitchen in north Kashmir’s Kunzer area.
While police said Tariq was killed by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in this particular killing, the militants denied their involvement.
Earlier, on the eve of Eid, militants abducted and subsequently killed Shabir Ahmed Bhat, a young BJP leader in Pulwama.
All the five incidents were target killings executed with an obvious motive of sending a strong message across Kashmir.
Interestingly, no one, not even human rights groups or civil society forums have dared to condemn the bloodshed on the day of a festival.
Since the killing of veteran journalist Syed Shujaat Bukhari outside his office at Kashmir’s press enclave on June 14, the situation has turned so precarious that people, including many journalists, avoid even talking about such killings.
For months, on the other hand, militants have been warning policemen in particular to quit their jobs; cops who are essentially doing their duty to earn a livelihood in the job-starved state.
If cops are being killed for “serving the government interests”, then Kashmir is headed for genocide where all the seven lakh-odd civil servants could be massacred for they “end up meeting larger interests of New Delhi.”
If killing a handful of militants doesn’t kill militancy, killing cops won’t ever kill policing.
Previously, other armed forces including the Army and the central reserve forces, whose presence is comparatively more dominant, have been the main target.
For the last few months, however, it’s the JKP which has borne the brunt of such attacks. 33 policemen were killed in 2017 whereas this year over 30 have already been killed since January.
For policemen, going back home in Kashmir is proving to be their last wish.
The possible fallout of killing JKP personnel, who happen to be natives, may fuel revenge that would only further prolong the ugly conflict.
After all, for the bereaved like Ashraf’s family members, his killing will haunt them, at least every Eid!