There were protests in support of terrorists
during and after the Pampore attack in Jammu and Kashmir that ended on
Monday. But over 100 km away from the encounter site, a village near the
Line of Control has taken a unusual stand and defied what several
others did in Pampore and adjacent areas.
Bonyar village near the LOC refused to bury the
bodies of the three terrorists killed in the encounter. The villages say
they will not allow a graveyard for terrorists to come up in the
village because it could influence their children.
Late on Monday evening, when police took bodies of
three Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists to Bonyar for the funeral, the
villagers resisted and forced police to bury the bodies at an
undisclosed location away from the village.
"We appeal to the government to find some
alternate place for burial of militants. This is a peaceful area. If you
bury them here, someone from this village can join militancy," said
Bashir Ahmad, a villager from Bonyar.
But, there was complete shut down in Pampore town
and nearby areas as people demanded the bodies of the terrorists to
perform their last rites. On Monday, while the 48-hour encounter between
the Lashkar men and security forces was on, crowds began shouting
pro-Azadi slogans.
For last few months, the police have not been
handing over bodies of Pakistani terrorists to locals because thousands
attend their funerals and give them heroes' burials. Instead, they now
give them a silent burial, away from the public gaze.
"Why they are choosing Bonyar for burial of
militants? It is close to the border and no one from this village has
become a militant. The government is dragging us into this problem,"
said Nadeem Khwaja. "When these dead bodies arrive here, our children
get to know about militancy. They can go to Pakistan and create problems
for us," said Bilal Ahmad.
The LOC village is heavily dominated by the army
and there is very little or no support for separatism. Bonyar and
Pampore present two different pictures of the valley and both are part
of the complex reality of Kashmir.
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