Rameez Makhdoomi
Spring is the season of optimism, freshness and seen everywhere a season that enthuses life in things after a long winter. Many have opined that spring is surely the best season of the year. Most of the people love this season and in Kashmir flowers blossoming, rainfall, snow melting, beautiful gardens represent Spring. It is the favorite season of poets.
Painfully enough, In Kashmir the Spring 2018 has started with death and pain. As on Sunday night, 4th March the parents were over the moon with joy that tomorrow their kids will get first day of schooling after long winter break, Kashmir got bruised by a sad news that during a late night shootout at Shopian in south Kashmir resulted in the killing of two local militants and four civilians travelling in two vehicles. The Army stated it retaliated after its check post was fired at from a car, in which the Militants and their associates were killed. Their families and local insist that killed civilians were innocents who had nothing to do with Militancy.
Amid versions and counter versions what was clear that Spring started in Kashmir on deadly note raising fears once again of an unpredictable summer.
Bilal Bashir Bhat, a young Journalist stated –
“ Spring is the season of hope and is seen as the season that gives life to everything. Unfortunately on a painful note the Spring in Kashmir has started on a disastrous tone with killings and pain writ large over the situation of Kashmir. Scores of young ones have lost their life at the onset of Spring in Kashmir on account of prevalent volatile situation. The grave nature of situation has ensured that summer season having a peaceful start hopes and vibes have received a setback . Kashmir political dispute should be amicably settled to give masses a healing balm and end this misery .”
Again the hopes were dashed, after the killing of three militants and two among them locals in South Kashmir Encounter on Sunday Night , 11 March , with one of them hailing from Buchpora Ahmednagar area, the soura and its adjoining areas observed shutdown for three days and Kashmir life was brought once again to grinding halt.
The bleak scenario calls on all the stakeholders to ensure that issues of Kashmir are solved in an amicable manner so that Kashmir does not see further pain and death, and all forms of destruction comes to an end.
