From the Standpoint of a Common Kashmiri..!We Choose Peace Not Hatred

In the aftermath of the brutal attack on innocent tourists at Pahalgam, Kashmir isn’t just counting its dead; it is counting the wounds carved into its soul. Blood stained the meadows that once sold postcards of peace. In a place where every breeze once whispered welcome, fear now lingers like a bad aftertaste. Markets stayed half-shut, hearts stayed fully broken, and a question hung heavier than the mountains themselves: Who profits from the blood of guests? As families mourn strangers they had never met but somehow felt responsible for, a valley known for hospitality wrestles with a shame that was never its own doing.

This time, the bullets choose the dreamers.
They chose the seekers of peace, helpless tourists who had come searching for the embrace of nature, not the cruelty of death.

As a common kashmiri, we believe the attack in Pahalgam wasn’t just a crime against individuals.
It was a dagger aimed at the soul of Kashmir itself, our hospitality, our dignity, peace and harmony.

Those who opened fire weren’t resisting oppression. They weren’t fighting for freedom.
They were butchers, nothing more.
And their goal was as dark as the smoke rising from the scene:
To plant terror, breed suspicion, and ignite an unending fire of hate.

But let’s not be fooled.
The real danger is not just in the gunfire.
The real danger lies in what follows — when hate is recycled, magnified, and weaponized against an entire community.
When we, the victims of one act of cruelty, become participants in another.

Think carefully — when you target Kashmiri students, harass Kashmiri shopkeepers, mistrust the Kashmiri labourer — whose script are you acting out?
Whose evil agenda are you advancing?
Don’t mourn terrorism by becoming terrorists yourselves.

Because believe me, we Kashmiris are hurting more than anyone else.
We feel the stabbing pain of betrayal as deeply as anyone else.
The attack was not only against the tourists who lost their lives.
It was an assault on our dignity, our centuries-old hospitality, our dreams for peace.

We carry the same colour of blood.
We mourn the same way.
Our tears are not tinted differently.

It is easy to stereotype from afar.
It is easier still to unleash collective punishment, to brand an entire people guilty for the sins of a few monsters who have no religion, no humanity, no place among us.

But understand this:
The average Kashmiri is not your enemy.
The average Kashmiri carries a book in one hand and a prayer for peace in the other.
They don’t dream of violence; they dream of futures where their children can live without gunfire and fear.

Today, we Kashmiris stand united in our condemnation of this barbarity.
We demand — and expect — a strong, swift, and transparent investigation.
We demand justice, not revenge.
We want the true culprits exposed to daylight, punished not by mob anger but by the cold, firm hand of law.

We are tired of blood staining our rivers.
Tired of carrying coffins instead of harvests.
Tired of proving our innocence every time a madman pulls a trigger.

Yet, despite our wounds, we still open our hearts to those who wish to understand.

We still believe that love is stronger than hate,
That humanity is stronger than terror,
And that the truest act of resistance today is to refuse to become what we hate.

To those who feel rage burning inside them today —
Channel it wisely.
Protect the innocent.
Protect the Kashmiri student far from home.
Protect the dreams that the bullets tried to kill yesterday.

Because when you choose compassion over cruelty,
When you choose justice over mob vengeance,
You don’t just save Kashmir —
You save yourselves.

Let the memory of those lost not be dishonoured by more hate, more pain, more division.
Let their memory fuel a collective stand for humanity, for peace, for justice.

The valley weeps today.
Let it not weep tomorrow because we failed it once again.

Ikkz Ikbal holds a Masters in Biotechnology and is Principal at Maryam Memorial Institute Pandithpora Qaziabad. He X’s @IkkzIkbal