Srinagar, Senior Hurriyat leader and Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, has accused the Indian government of perpetuating violence in Jammu and Kashmir to further its Hindutva agenda. This allegation comes in the wake of the recent killings of two Kashmiri youths by Indian forces in Pulwama district, which Shah claims are indicative of a broader strategy by New Delhi to destabilize the region.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Shah, currently detained in Tihar Jail, asserted in a message that the Indian government’s continuous aggressive policies in Kashmir are designed to maintain a state of unrest. He suggested that this unrest is used by the BJP-led government to push forward its nationalist, Hindutva agenda. “It seems that the BJP government wants to keep the Kashmir pot boiling so that it could conveniently push forward its Hindutva agenda,” Shah stated, condemning what he describes as the government’s sledgehammer approach that has plunged the region into uncertainty.

Shah criticized the Indian forces’ tactics in Kashmir, describing them as stage-managed encounters designed to suppress the Kashmiri populace and label educated young locals as foreign terrorists. This, he argued, is part of a calculated policy to weaken the Kashmiri resistance and discredit their struggle for self-determination.

The Hurriyat leader called on the Indian government to abandon its discriminatory policies and engage in meaningful dialogue with all relevant stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir dispute permanently and peacefully. He emphasized that the pro-freedom leadership is open to dialogue and has consistently advocated for a substantive, time-bound, and result-oriented negotiation process, involving both India and Pakistan.

Shah’s statements underline the complexities of the Kashmir issue, which involves not only territorial disputes but also deep-seated political and communal tensions that have been exacerbated by the policies of successive Indian governments.