Is it sheer frustration to the extent of precarious rabidity on the part of militants in Kashmir to target and physically harm those innocents who are engaged with apple trade either in transporting , trading or selling in wholesale ? If it is not , then why should they open fire on two apple merchants viz Charanjeet Singh and Sanjeev Kumar , both from Punjab’s Ferozpur and Gurdaspur districts respectively who had visited a village in Shopian for buying apples. Charanjeet Singh died on the spot while Sanjeev Kumar was hospitalised in a critical condition. Again, a non local innocent poor brick kiln labourer Shetty Kumar Sagar belonging to Chhattisgarh was gunned down in South Kashmir. The other labourer walking along the railway line succeeded in fleeing and survived the imminent fate that of Shetty. Like this, it appears that the militants are under execution of a diabolical plan perhaps dictated to them from across the border to target specifically non locals and terrorise others so as to frustrate their attempts to visit the valley in connection with trade , commerce and working as labourers.
While such inhuman acts are cutting at the roots of the famous Kashmir hospitality , it was , at the same time aimed at wreaking havoc with local trade and commerce and hence the economic prosperity of the people . The government , on the other hand was under obligation to provide security to such people especially the ones coming from outside Kashmir in respect of business and trading activities. The local police authorities should have known for sure that both these fruit merchants were staying in the village and were procuring apples from the growers for over one month . When they were loading the fruit in the trucks , they were targeted and fired upon. The killers afterwards set the truck on fire and destroyed the crop as also thrashed some people associated with the deal.
There are certain pertinent questions that arise which need answers . Why is it that as soon as the valley moves fast towards normalcy, militants and their mentors loose heart beats and finding that their game plan was over, they disturb the atmosphere with acts of violence and resort to cold blooded murders and arson? At least, what purpose were they going to achieve now, which during all these over 30 years they miserably failed to achieve and in future too ? Central Government, in order to help apple growers, introduced Direct Market Intervention Scheme to buy apples worth Rs.8000 crores directly from them right at their doorsteps and the decision was hailed by the apple growers which the militants wanted to abort but who were going to suffer and suffer badly ? What were they going to achieve by letting apples rot in many cases but not allowing their growers to sell or transport to markets although that “ban” of theirs was in some force in isolated places only while most of the crop has been sold out ?
Such acts of frustrated and bewildered militants only prove their nefarious designs to keep peace and tranquillity away from Kashmir and spoil the academic career of students , cause trade and commerce to severe pressures and strains , disrupt normal and routine life of the people who are now fed up with them as never before.
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