Ramazan begins in Kashmir amid high hopes of Peace

Bilal Bashir Bhat
Srinagar, May 17 (KNB): With government of India announcing Ramadan ceasefire on the beginning of this sacred month the downtrodden people of Kashmir have expressed hope that the move of central government will bring peace and prosperity in the region.
Pertinently, the central government on Wednesday asked its forces not to launch operations in Jammu & Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan. The decision was taken to help the peace-loving Muslims observes Ramzan in a peaceful environment.
The common people of Kashmir wholeheartedly welcomed the move, however, at the same time demanded a long-lasting resolution of Kashmir issue causing death and destruction day in and day out from last 30 years in particular. The J&K Police Chief commenting over the move said “Taking advantage of fresh initiative of GOI during Ramadan, families of local militants should urge their sons to leave path of violence & join them to live peacefully.



“Ceasefire announcement by Government of India is a welcome step. Hope militants will also reciprocate and make this ceasefire a success. It’s a golden opportunity for both India and Separatists to use this ceasefire as a bridge to narrow gaps. This opportunity can serve as a trust building measure and ultimately Hurriyat can enter into a dialogue with government of India. If taken seriously this can help us stop the bloodshed that’s going on since last 29 years. Need of the hour is to extended this ceasefire exactly on the same pattern of Nagaland. I hope and pray for the success of this ceasefire,” reads a Facebook status of a netizen which later evoked a positive response in comment box.
Imran Sheikh a member of JKPA, hoping a peaceful situation even after the Ramadan ceasefire pledged to pray 2 Rakats of Namaz-e-Hajat every day in Ramadan for the resolution of Kashmir issue. He also made an appeal to his friends to follow the trend.
Interestingly, the announcement of ceasefire comes after a three days Army Chief Bipin Rawat made a statement saying – “You can’t fight the army, azaadi (freedom) will never happen.”
Reliable sources told KNB, behind the scene, Mehbooba has been pressing central leaders to call for a unilateral ceasefire in the Valley to give people a breather from the Combing and Search Operations (CASO) and anti-militancy operations.
PDP argues that the killings of militants and civilians set in process a cycle of killings, resulting in more youth taking up arms. South Kashmir is the PDP bastion and the problem for the party is that the region has become an epicenter of militancy. (KNB)