The scenic valley of Pahalgam, once a sanctuary of serenity, was shaken recently by a brutal attack on innocent tourists — dreamers who had come in search of Kashmir’s famed beauty and warmth, but were met instead with cold, indiscriminate violence.
For the people of Kashmir, this wasn’t just another news headline. It was a deep, personal wound — one that bled through silence and shame, sorrow and suppressed fury. It wasn’t just the soil that was stained with blood, but the collective conscience of a region that has always prided itself on its hospitality.
We, the common Kashmiris, unequivocally condemn this attack.
We mourn the dead not as strangers, but as guests we failed to protect. In our culture, the mehman is sacred. Their safety is our pride. Their grief, now, is our grief. The bullets that struck them struck at the soul of Kashmir itself — our dignity, our culture, and our peaceful aspirations.
Let it be said clearly: this violence is not ours. The perpetrators of this heinous crime are not martyrs. They are not freedom fighters. They are cowards and criminals who seek to drown our land in fear and pit people against one another. They want to fracture communities, vilify the innocent, and write a new chapter of hatred — one where all Kashmiris are painted with the same dark brush.
To those outside the valley who feel anger: your pain is valid. But let not your sorrow be hijacked by hate. When Kashmiri students are threatened, when shopkeepers are harassed, when laborers are assaulted — it is not justice you serve, but the agenda of the very monsters you condemn.
Let us not punish the entire orchard because of a single withered branch.
We are tired — tired of proving our innocence, tired of burying the innocent, tired of watching our children grow up under the shadow of suspicion and gunfire. But even now, even in this moment of anguish, we choose peace over vengeance.
Our demand is not for blood, but for justice — swift, impartial, and transparent. We urge the authorities to find the real culprits and hold them accountable under the law. We do not need symbolism. We need sincerity. We do not want revenge. We want resolution.
To fellow Indians: do not let this tragedy blind your compassion. Protect the Kashmiri youth studying in your colleges. Stand by the Kashmiris working in your cities. See them not as suspects, but as fellow citizens caught in a storm they did not create.
Kashmir weeps today, but it refuses to turn bitter. Our valleys echo not just with mourning, but with a firm resolve — we will not let hate define us. The real resistance now is to preserve our humanity in the face of cruelty.
Let the memory of the slain guide us toward unity, not division. Let this be the moment when we stand together — not as Kashmiri or non-Kashmiri, but as humans who still believe in the power of peace.
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