 |
||
|
||
|
||
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: October 12, 2005
The gruesome killing of nine Hindus in a remote village of Rajouri on Sunday night is a grim reminder that the ethnic cleansing of Jammu & Kashmir by jihadis continues unabated. It also proves that all claims of communal harmony in that State, especially as articulated by the All-Party Hurriyat Conference which of late has been shedding crocodile tears over the plight of more than 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits who were forced to flee their homes in the Valley 15 years ago and now live wretched lives in refugee camps, is nothing more than fiction.
What underscores the brutality of Sunday night's killing more than the ritual slitting of the victims' throats is that many of the dead had barely escaped Saturday's devastating earthquake only to die at the hands of rabid Islamists. Early reports indicate that the killers are foreign terrorists who crossed into Indian territory from Pakistan which only goes to show that contrary to Islamabad's assertion that it has dismantled jihadi camps and cracked down on Islamists, the terror infrastructure remains intact and active.
Showing total, though not surprising, disregard for the tragedy inflicted by Saturday's earthquake, the jihadis struck at a time when security personnel were busy rescuing people from the rubble of collapsed houses. Such pre-meditated murder comes easily to marauders who swear by god but do the devil's bidding. Therefore, there is no need to take note of the "truce" announced by the Jihad Council headed by Syed Salahuddin, commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, and its laughable offer to help the victims of the earthquake. Attaching any importance to the so-called "truce" is akin to suggesting that a viper can be trusted.
Those whose hearts beat for Pakistan's jihad brigade, who shamelessly seek to either justify or gloss over targeted killing of Hindus by Islamists in Jammu & Kashmir and who are happy to repose their trust in Gen Pervez Musharraf - we need not look towards Washington for such people for there is no dearth of fifth columnists both within and outside the establishment in India - would do well to look at the fresh attempts being made by terrorists to sneak across the border and the LoC into India. Ever since Saturday, in their mistaken hope that the earthquake has distracted the attention of India's security forces posted along the border and the LoC, these holy warriors of an unholy war have made several foolhardy attempts at infiltration, only to be shot dead.
Any distraction that may have been caused by the earthquake has not overshadowed the determination of our men in khaki to stop the killers in their tracks. But, as recent history shows, this is unlikely to deter the many other zealots being trained in Pakistani camps. Islamabad's attitude and support for jihad remains unchanged; it is as recalcitrant as ever, never mind the rhetoric which the UPA Government finds so soothing and with which Gen Musharraf has so successfully conned his patrons in Washington into believing that Pakistan is an important ally in the war against terror.
This simple point has been driven home by Pakistan's rude rebuff to India's offer of joint rescue and relief operations. Meanwhile, there have been amazing suggestions that the destruction of life and property by the earthquake has opened a window of opportunity for India to build further bridges with Pakistan. The damaged Aman Setu silently mocks at the banality of such suggestions that cunningly ignore the grief of those who saw their family members being slaughtered on Sunday night.
|
||
|
||
|
||