A leading Pakistani newspaper on Tuesday urged the Indian and Jammu and Kashmir governments to revisit their Kashmir policy in a bid to restore peace in the troubled state.
“Instead of using more violence to quell protests and fuelling a cycle of further bloodshed, both the administration in Srinagar and those who call the shots in Delhi need to revisit their approach,” the Dawn said in an editorial.
It said that militarized response to the unrest in the Kashmir Valley had been “an abject failure” and warned that if this did not change, the whole region may be engulfed by a renewed wave of protests.
“India must deal with Kashmir with respect and respond to the legitimate grievances of the people.” But it added that it did not see it happening.
The editorial came two days after a sudden spurt in violence left five militants and six civilians dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.