Ongoing effects of Kashmir issue

Withdrawal of educational facilities leaves Kashmiri children not only with difficult present but bleak future as well

After the dead have been buried and bullet holes plastered over, those left behind in a region ravaged by war are left to start their lives anew. The after effects of wars are seen not just in razed buildings and graveyards but also in adults whose livelihoods were taken from them and the children who never went to school. For the Kashmiri people, where conflict rears its ugly head every few years, this is a never ending cycle in which successive generations have all seen turbulent times punctuated by mortar fire which leaves them scurrying for cover. The current iteration of this conflict has on November 2^nd, resulted in the closure of hundreds of schools in Indian Occupied Kashmir due to shelling allegedly by Indian and Pakistani troops that has resulted in 14 deaths in two days. On the Pakistani side, 25 schools have had to be closed due to cross LoC firing.

The discussions about what caused this conflict are long but its human cost is only trotted out in the form of statistics to bolster arguments. When governments take the decision to launch armed attacks, they ostensibly do so to protect the people but for the Kashmiris, these promises have not amounted to much. In Indian Occupied Kashmir human rights abuses have been carried out by the military which has targeted protesting civilians by firing metallic pellets that have caused debilitating injuries. This, added to the curfew and now closure of schools should be enough of a prompt to lay aside the jingoistic rhetoric and approach the matter with an intent to promote peace in the region. In an already affected region where normalcy can quickly devolve, the withdrawal of educational facilities leaves the Kashmiri children not only with a difficult present but a bleak future as well. The Indian government’s continued efforts to justify its actions against Kashmiri civilians while keeping them under threat of military attack is highly deplorable. This clash of egos gives the people of both countries something to talk about on social media but it is wrecking havoc on the lives of Kashmiri children.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2016.

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