‘If Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.’
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Mehraj Malik’s speech in the Jammu Kashmir assembly has become the talk of the town in political circles after he stated that when terrorists from Pakistan carry out attacks the blame falls on Kashmiri Muslims.
“When a terrorist carries out terrorist acts in Pakistan, the Pakistani establishment calls them khawarij (separatists) and when he does terrorist activities in India then he is called as mujahid (holy warrior).”
“Pakistan wants Hindus and Muslims to fight each other and this is their game-plan to destroy India,” Malik, the lone AAP MLA from Jammu Kashmir, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com in an interview.
Kashmir was considered a haven of peace for the last five years and now suddenly everything seems lost. Where did we go wrong?
The mistake was from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s side as he had promised the nation that he will protect the country from terrorists. This was a big mistake as people lost their lives. He had promised people security and he got an election mandate from the people of India on this basis.
We have to retaliate against them, as terrorism needs to stop in Kashmir.
But this was the first time that tourists have been killed by terrorists, isn't it?
Segregating tourists on the basis of religion is a conspiracy. Terrorists knew by doing so there will be repercussions in India in the name of religion, therefore they chose to do this.
Sadly, some people are doing exactly the same thing in India which Pakistan wanted.
We must take action against Pakistan for this cowardice. India wants goli ka jawab goli se (bullet for a bullet).
We all are waiting to see what action the Government of India is going to take against Pakistan.
You need to be militarily prepared to go to war against Pakistan, isn’t it?
We are not saying go to war but if Pakistan has fired one bullet at us then we have to respond by firing 10 bullets at them. It is our right to do so.
We have terrorist havens sitting across the border and we can target them. The world is standing with us. We should not wait now as we are capable of taking on Pakistan.
Pakistan will not take time for the next action against us so if we keep waiting patiently then we will only pass time rather than take action against them.
Isn’t it surprising that some locals from Pahalgam were involved in the terrorist attacks?
Terrorists come from Pakistan and carry out their activity in Kashmir. Many terrorists participate in terrorist activities in Jammu too as we have a long border with Pakistan on the Jammu side. These terrorists are threatening locals and making them do their work at gunpoint.
The answer is that we need to strengthen our borders. We should not allow Pakistani terrorists to enter India in the first place.
The first question should be, how did they enter Kashmir?
Who gave them shelter in Jammu Kashmir, is the secondary question.
Are we not winning Kashmiri hearts?
You cannot win hearts by strength or by spreading hatred. If you want to win their (Kashmiri) sympathy then you must stand with them in their pain. If you hurt them then you will only sow hatred in their hearts.
Right now, Kashmiri students are getting beaten up in hostels and colleges in the rest of India. These poor Kashmiri students have zero idea about the terrorists who did the killings in Pahalgam. They have no knowledge of guns.
When you beat up innocent boys then you ensure they spew venom against you in future.
After spreading hatred, you cannot win hearts. The government is failing to stop this hatred from spreading. The same hatred was rejected by the people of Jammu Kashmir in the last assembly elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is using Muslims as pawns to form a government across India.
Pakistan is also using Muslims to spread riots in India.
You cannot win hearts in this manner. These things only lead to the distancing of one community from another.
India is not of the BJP alone but for every Indian.
How is the ordinary Kashmiri Muslim reacting to this?
I am a Muslim and let me tell you, no religion says you can kill innocent people.
Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people. It is only terrorists who kill innocent people.
Every Indian Muslim is standing with India but the Modi government is not taking them along yet.
Hindus are deeply hurt because they are being asked their religion by terrorists and shot dead in India. Why are you not looking into this aspect of terrorism?
This is Pakistan’s policy. You must realise one thing, during the Bangladesh war the people of Bangladesh were against Pakistan as a country. Had the people of Bangladesh not been against Pakistan, we could not have carved a new country out of Pakistan.
The same thing Pakistan is now trying to do in India. Terrorists asked for the tourists’ religion and killed them because they want Hindus and Muslims to fight among themselves which will result in the break-up of India.
We are all mature people and must understand the evil design of Pakistan and not fall in their trap. This is a conspiracy of Pakistan and we must be aware of it.
The Indian media must realise as they are not playing a good role. They are instead adding fuel to the fire by spreading Hindu-Muslim hatred in India.
Kashmiri Muslims drove away Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s and now Hindu tourists are being killed in Kashmir. How can you blame the BJP when Hindus are actually being killed in Kashmir?
It is not like that. Terrorism comes from Pakistan, and if it does not come from Pakistan then neither Hindus will die nor Muslims will die in Kashmir or in India.
We will have to close all the doors for Pakistan and teach them in the language they understand. It is only then we will have peace in our country.
As for Kashmiri Hindu Pandits leaving the valley, the reason was the political parties that ruled the state and India at that point of time. Sadly, it is only the people of India who suffer because of politics.