Qazi Shibli
Nazir Ahmed Lone was asked by the government forces late on Saturday night to evacuate his house as gunshots reverberated for the first time in this fresh wave of militancy in the Rawalpora area of Shopian district in South Kashmir. Rawalpora is a densely populated village of the district and the presence of militants in the area took many like Nazir by shock as militants usually choose to make the orchards and the open areas as their hideouts.
On Saturday, the government forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force, and Jammu Kashmir Police jointly laid a siege over a cluster of houses in Shopian’s Rawalpora area following a specific input about the militant presence in the area. During this siege, the forces say that the militants opened fire upon them, which resulted in an encounter.
It had emerged a few days ago that six young boys from the areas around Rawalpora had been arrested by government forces. The locals identified the boys as Shahid Iqbal Rather, Hilal Amin Wani, Rameez Muzaffar Wani, Rauf Rashid Wani, Samiullah Farooq Choppan. Among the arrested is a minor whom the locals identified as Faizan Yusuf Khan, a resident of Vehil area in the Shopian district of South Kashmir. A police official told The Kashmiriyat that arms have been recovered from the arrested. “They have been booked under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,” he said.
One of the biggest operations conducted by government forces in Kashmir in recent years, in which two militants were killed, has left behind a trail of destruction as houses have gone missing in a day from the landscape of Rawalpora. While one house has been partially damaged, all that remains of the rest of the houses now is mud, stone, and scattered pieces of bricks. “These were not just seven structures, these houses were a shelter to seven families and now they’ve disappeared in a blink of an eye,” one local who was taking stock of the destruction said.
Videos and pictures of sky-high flames having engulfed several households invited both scorn and outrage against the government forces on social media spaces. Many others justified the burning while blaming the residents for ‘sheltering’ the militants. As soon the gunfight ended, it became evident that it had left behind a trail of devastation, shattering the lives of the residents who days ago, had no idea of what was to come when they were evacuated from the locality.
Nowhere to Go
Narrating the ordeal of Saturday evening, a local, Mohammad Rafiq told The Kashmiriyat that around 7 p.m., their family of 12 members heard gunshots in the area and they laid down flat on the ground. “We were in a complete fix for the next several hours, we did not move neither did we know if making a movement would be safe. We just heard the gunshots that began around 7 p.m. and continued till 4 a.m. on Sunday. The local police led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Shopian rescued the families and kept us in a different house,” Rafiq said.
On their return from the house they were kept at, they were shattered on seeing what had become of their houses and belongings. Children, women, old men, all stood in shock looking at the destruction that had been wreaked on the locality. “Why is this happening, Why is Kashmir being reduced to ashes? This should not happen, if they are fighting the militants. Why do they need to fight unarmed civilians like us?” Rafiq Ahmed whose house has been damaged told The Kashmiriyat.
The families who have lost their houses were devasted. “We do not have any alternative place to live in. We don’t have enough money to construct another house,” Imran, whose house was also damaged during the encounter told The Kashmiriyat.
“We have at least 12 children who study in primary classes. Their books, certificates, school marks sheets all have been burnt down, we did not want our children to be exposed to the conflict at such an early age, but it is certain now that no household in the valley can escape the conflict.” Rafiq said.
Experts believe that denial of political space to Kashmiris has resulted in Kashmir sliding away from New Delhi. Yashwant Sinha making strong remarks about his visit to Kashmir, a few years ago said, “India has lost Kashmir’s heart.”
Accusing the government forces of vandalism during the encounter, several locals whom The Kashmiriyat spoke to, said that during the intense stone-throwing clashes that had erupted around the encounter site, the forces damaged the windowpanes of several houses. “They threw stones at glasses of our houses when the stone-pelting was going outside, on the streets,” Rashid said while displaying the broken windows of his house.
“They (Forces) trouble hundreds of civilian families, damage our property,” Abdul Rashid, a local resident whose house he alleged had been vandalized told The Kashmiriyat.
Jaish-e-Muhammad commander Sajad Afghani was among the two militants killed in the encounter between government forces and militants, in the Rawalpora area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district, the Jammu Kashmir Police said. The Inspector-General of Police for Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar confirmed the killing of Sajad Afghani and congratulated Shopian Police and other forces.
Giving the details of the massive destruction caused during the 56-hour long gunfight, Rafiq said that the houses of Shameem Ahmed Lone, Nazir Ahmed Lone, Mohammed Imran Mir, Farooq Ahmed Lone, Abdul Hameed Lone, and Mohammed Ahsan Lone were damaged in the fire. “12 Sheep and 2 cows were charred to death in the three barns that were burnt along the houses.”
Official estimates state that at least 5,368 shops, houses and other private property in Kashmir have suffered damage in the conflict-related violence from 1989 to 2001. However, no such data has been available of the last 17 years but the number can be reasonably estimated to have increased manifold.
In 2018, The Kashmiriyat reported 107 structures that were damaged during 108 encounters 2018 during gunfights between armed militants and Indian government forces in the Kashmir valley. The owners do not get any compensation from the Government. In fact, many of them have been booked under charges of “sheltering” militants, leaving the families in a multi-side battle, to find shelters and to fight the legal battles.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, one of the house owners, Shameem Ahmad Lone said that their house was searched on the night of the encounter and on finding nothing, he and his family were not allowed to save anything from the fire.“ I requested the forces to let me save some clothes, books and some pieces of gold that we had saved for my three daughters. But we were not allowed to save anything. I have nothing left now. I can’t build a new life. Who is going to help us now?” Shameem Ahmad said.
“After the encounter was over, we found nothing, everything had turned into charred debris.”