Facebook Live: Activist Junaid Qureshi Discusses Kashmir Unrest

Junaid is the son of Hashim Qureshi, who was one of the founding members of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

Junaid Qureshi is a writer, International human rights activist, and a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party (JKDLP).

Junaid is also the son of separatist leader Hashim Qureshi, who was one of the founding members of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. He currently lives in Amsterdam and maintains a keen interest in the affairs of his home state, Kashmir.

Talking to The Quint, Junaid reacted to the aftermath of the encounter of Burhan Wani which has seen Kashmir being engulfed in violent protests which have already claimed 30 lives.

Junaid has urged the Kashmiri youth to rethink the mindless violence that has been inflicted in the valley in the past few decades.

Here are the important takeaways from our Facebook Live session with him:

• I think violence in the end breeds violence so, in that sense, I am convinced violence will not solve anything. In the current scenario, issues get solved on the table. Don’t think violence will get us anything except death and destruction.
  
  
• The Indian establishment needs to rethink its handling of the Kashmir situation. They need to stop treating every Kashmiri as a terrorist. The security establishment needs to approach Kashmir in a more humane way. At the end of the day, India needs to understand that the issue of Kashmir is about the dignity of the Kashmiris.
  
  
• Understanding the reasons why Burhan Wani enjoyed such support in Kashmir is very important. He did not take up arms just for the sake of creating havoc. Though I denounce his idea of taking up arms, the events that led to him feeling such strong resentment cannot be ignored. Those events are what led to him becoming the cult figure he later became.
  
  
• There is a grave disparity in how Kashmir is treated as compared to the rest of the country. Security forces should not be allowed to take such a hard handed approach that would otherwise not be allowed in Delhi, or Mumbai. For India, Kashmiris, not Kashmir should be an integral part of their country. The situation calls for hearts to be conquered and not the land.
  
  
• The Kashmiri kids feel let down by the state and vent their anger by pelting stones and taking out protests. The Indian establishment needs to understand that crushing them with brute force is not going to solve the problem. It needs to show some restraint and maturity in its reactions, and adhere to the rules of political engagement.
  
  
• If I believed that the gun is the solution to the Kashmir problem, my 6-year-old daughter would have been carrying a gun with me, but instead she will carry a pen. Peace and dialogue are the only way forward to finding a solution to the problem at hand.
  

Watch The Quint’s Facebook Live below.