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Cricketers, making provocative statements will not help anyone, especially Kashmiris

This cycle repeats itself every few months. Shahid Afridi talks about Kashmir, which obviously gets many ‘befitting’ responses from the other side of the border. Indian news media, sets a bar lower than Pakistan’s no 1 channel (you know the ‘Axact’ one, I am talking about) cashes in on this ‘event’. We have a little saner, but equally pointless talk shows. Infographics are made displaying fire and fury, with patriotic songs to stir passion and nationalistic fervor. This goes on for a few days, a week tops. And then we move on, to another story. Every thing goes back to normal, as the storm in a cricketer’s tea cup cools off. Everything is fine, except for Kashmiris.

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For them, those have been blinded by pellet guns, their lives will never be the same. Those injured will suffer in pain for the rest of their lives. Finally, those who have been murdered by the state are the lucky ones. This pretense we have that they would be in a better place, one would hope, it is true. And the hundreds of thousand, whose families have been devastated, during this phase, will wonder what they did wrong. Such statements, will energize the already in power, hawks. It will weaken those who want this problem, very human problem to end.

No human life is worth sacrificing, in this war of egos. Pakistanis and Indians are pretty sane when it comes to larger powers. Pakistan, has never shot down a drone. Indians treated the Chinese military stand off with kids gloves. Its just when the stakes are cheap Kashmiri lives, both play to the gallery. Such statements give a free pass for the politicians and other forces, to shift focus. Indian media circus is all about deflecting responsibility of a state killing its own citizen. The statement by Virat Kohli makes lot of sense. He spoke about knowing facts. Fact is hundreds of thousand have lost their lives when we fuel this anger.

Inflammatory statements will further this divide, this hate. Perhaps, Shahid Afridi, Gautam Ghambir, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina can find in it in themselves to dig deeper. Care about human lives and not simply whipping up nationalist sentiment when it suits them.
Asjad Khan

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