A Blast in the Past

Terror is another name for fear. Most people won't find joy in terrorizing people, but certain groups have thrived on this very agenda of chaos and fear. The Kashmir valley is hauntingly beautiful. Its unmatched beauty is marred by the horrors of unending militant attacks. Peace is not easy to achieve- the conflict-ridden state shows us that.

Stop Terrorism; Image Source: Public Domain

Even though politicians are seen as corrupt entities who thrive on the miseries of the general masses, people still have hope from them. Thus, whenever the parliament or the legislative assemblies are in session, there is a slight expectation that something would change for the better this time.

Legislative Assembly halls witness deliberations, disagreements, fights, jokes, and some of the greatest speeches in history. However, the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Assembly complex witnessed another event that most of us pray never happens: a bombing.

On 1st October 2001, a seemingly unfateful day, an explosion happened in the State Legislative Assembly complex. Around 2 p.m, a bomber hijacked a Tata Sumo parked outside the Assembly gates and sped away, only to ram his car into the gates of the assembly complex. The vehicle was almost like a mini fire hazard because of all the explosives present in it.

As you can imagine what happened next, the suicide bomber succeeded. There was an explosion that shook the people of the valley. Rebel fighters entered the compound and began firing- this lasted for hours after the blast.

Those who witnessed the attack reported that 9 people had died instantly. And many more died on their way to the hospital. They also said that 3 militants exited the car just before the blast. Dressed in police uniforms, no one would have dared to stop them. Who knew that these people were wolves in sheep's clothing.

More than 30 people were killed, and around 75 people were injured.

There were no lawmakers in the building as a part of the complex had been destroyed in a fire and was under renovation. Since the Legislative Assembly had wrapped up its work for the day, almost all senior Kashmiri leaders had exited the compound before the attack.

News of this offensive made headlines globally. The terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The group's spokesman mentioned that one of their suicide bombers, Wajahat Hussain blew himself up in the building when he rammed that car into the compound gate. He also claimed that some of the Mujahidin soldiers had seized control of the building.

The bloody sight left everyone grieving. India had had enough of these attacks. Having run out of patience, India issued a statement saying that it would attack the military extremist camps in Pakistan.

While India has constantly accused Pakistan of sheltering terrorists and providing them a haven, Pakistan denies these allegations and says that they only give diplomatic support to these groups.

Terrorism is an ongoing saga- nationally as well as globally. It is imperative to devise a global security policy that de-legitimizes terrorist activities and groups in any form so that innocent lives aren't lost in this tussle for power.