Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Mohammad Umar Farooq has expressed serious concern over a reported attack on a Kashmir-bound passenger bus in Haryana, an incident that left an elderly passenger injured and several others deeply traumatised. The episode has revived anxieties among Kashmiri travellers who regularly journey across states for education, trade, employment and medical care.
In a post on X issued from Srinagar on October 18, the Mirwaiz said he was disturbed to learn of the attack on the bus. He noted that reports of threats against vehicles bearing J&K registration were causing concern among people. “Those in authority must ensure the safety of Kashmiri travellers and take swift and strict legal action against those responsible,” he said.
The statement draws attention to a worry that many families in the Valley share whenever members travel outside the Union Territory by road. Buses and other passenger vehicles remain a vital link between Kashmir and the northern plains, carrying students returning to campuses, traders heading to wholesale markets, patients bound for hospitals and labourers seeking seasonal work. Haryana lies on a corridor that is frequently used by such travellers, which explains why any report of hostility along the route travels quickly and unsettles households back home.
The Mirwaiz did not elaborate on the circumstances of the attack, and his message focused instead on the larger question of public safety. By referring to reports of threats against J&K-registered vehicles, he signalled that the concern extends beyond a single incident and touches on a wider sense of vulnerability among those who travel with identifiable number plates. His appeal was directed at the authorities, whom he asked to act decisively so that confidence among travellers is restored.
Safety of citizens while moving freely within the country is a basic constitutional expectation, and community leaders across Kashmir have in the past called for prompt administrative and legal responses whenever travellers from the region are targeted elsewhere. Swift action, they argue, not only delivers justice to the victims but also deters those who may be tempted to repeat such acts and reassures ordinary families that their relatives will reach their destinations unharmed.
For the elderly passenger who was injured, and for the others who endured the ordeal, the immediate need is medical care and reassurance. For the wider public in Kashmir, the expectation is that the matter is investigated thoroughly, that those responsible are identified, and that the law takes its course without delay. The Mirwaiz’s intervention has added a prominent religious and social voice to that demand at a time when the safety of travellers is once again a subject of public discussion.
