Kashmiri college students face harassment in India following lethal assault in Pahalgam

Gunmen killed 26 males — all Indian besides one Nepali — within the vacationer hotpot of Pahalgam on Tuesday, the deadliest assault on civilians within the contested Muslim-majority territory since 2000.

Survivors stated the gunmen focused males, sparing those that might give the Islamic declaration of religion, Indian media reported.

Additionally learn: Kashmir journey plans unravel as cancellations surge

The killings have shocked the world’s most populous nation and enraged Hindu nationalist teams.

Kashmiri college students in states together with Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have been allegedly requested to depart their rented residences or college hostels on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir College students Affiliation convenor Nasir Khuehami stated.

College students at a college in Himachal Pradesh have been harassed and bodily attacked after hostel doorways have been damaged, Khuehami stated.

The scholars have been allegedly known as “terrorists”, he stated.

“This isn’t only a safety problem,” he stated. “It’s a deliberate and focused marketing campaign of hate and vilification towards college students from a specific area and identification.”

In Uttarakhand’s capital metropolis Dehradun, round 20 college students fled to the airport on Wednesday following warnings from Hindu Raksha Dal, a fringe right-wing group.

The scholars stated that the group threatened Kashmiri Muslim college students with dire penalties if they didn’t depart city instantly.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated he was in contact with state governments the place college students reported feeling unsafe, asking them to “take additional care”.

Kashmir’s former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti additionally appealed to India’s Inside Minister Amit Shah to “intervene within the wake of sure parts overtly threatening” merchants and college students.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with each claiming the high-altitude territory in full however governing separate parts of it.

Insurgent teams have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Indian safety forces have launched an enormous manhunt in Kashmir for the attackers, with giant numbers of individuals detained within the operation.

Additionally learn: Pahalgam: Omar Abdullah hails slain ‘ponnywallah’ who tried snatching rifle from terrorist to save lots of vacationers

India accused Islamabad on Wednesday of supporting “cross-border terrorism” and downgraded ties with its neighbour with a raft of diplomatic measures.

Pakistan has denied any function within the Pahalgam assault.