Arun Joshi / Srinagar

Kashmir was rocked by anti-Pakistan protests  last weekend following a devastating blast in a Shia mosque in Pakistani capital city of Islamabad on Friday ( February 6, 2026)  which left 31 worshippers dead and at least 170 others wounded . This was something new  in Kashmir where Pakistan is viewed in a different  perspective .

The Shia dominated areas in north Kashmir – Sumbal, Sonwari and adjoining areas reverberated with anti-Pakistan slogans and the demonstrators particularly targeted Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir , who now doubles as  Chief of Defence Forces in the country . Their outrage was over the killing of their community members in  Islamabad mosque blast .Placards in their hands read : “ Pakistan Muradabd,” , “ Pakistan stop killing minorities .” In Kashmiri , they raised slogans ,” Pakistanan nu beol , Khdiyon gol,”, which when translated means that very seeds of Pakistan be destroyed b  God Almighty.

Kashmiris came out on the streets on Friday (  February 6, 2026) – the day of  blast itself  because they suspected that Shias were deliberately targeted by the militant groups in Islamabad because of the overall anti-Shia sentiment advanced by the establishment . They said that the Pakistani government and military were unable to protect  the minorities , and it was deliberate .

Kashmiris gathered the courage  to give vent to their pent up anti-Pakistan feelings  in noisy street protests , to be heard and seen, because they felt that they can do so . Anti-Pakistan feelings are piling up . Somewhere the protestors were also giving expression to  what Pakistan had been doing to the people in the Valley, killing them and  clouding their future .

Pakistan  has been home to  killing of  Shia Muslims , in their mosques  ever since its inception . Shia-Sunni sectarian conflict , often carried out by “ Sipah-e- Sahiba Pakistan)  and its latter day formations like Lashkar-e-Jhangavi, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  ( TTP) , Lashkar-e-Taiba  and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The anti-Pakistan protests  need to be seen in wider perspective and what happened in the Valley last weekend is a turning point in history. Anti-Pakistan sentiment had started gathering storm over the years, but it was  for the first time it manifested in full-throated slogans . The protestors were  aware that what they were saying and  how would it be taken in Pakistan, but they  did not care less

It  is a turning point because Kashmir has woken up to the new reality, in which it can easily understand the difference between  Pakistan’s real intentions and rhetoric . The Valley had seen  how Pakistan sponsored – trained , armed and funded – terrorists had killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam in April last year, putting  their economy  and image in jeopardy . Kashmir was  made to pay a heavy price for the doing of Pakistan . That  anger continued to pile  up  and now it is finding an outlet.

Kashmir has sensed the protection that has come to them with the abrogation of Article 370, in which Pakistan has been  expelled from the land  of Kashmir . It has been told that it has no role whatsoever in Jammu and Kashmir, neither defining its geography nor the sovereignty. The Modi government put all Pakistani plans to naught . The idea behind the bifurcation of the state of  Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Ladakh and J&K, was to say it loudly and clearly that the whole of the territory and the people were part of India . All the UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir and the plebiscite that these proposed were irrelevant . India  rejected the resolutions and their appendages . on either side of the Line of Control .

This instilled confidence among the people and they felt emboldened to  call spade a spade . Pakistan is not being blamed only for  all the wrong doings , but also targeted for what is happening within the neighbouring country . It is establishment of new ideas in Kashmir, based on reality and a rebuff to what all Pakistan had been saying about Kashmir till date.

Why this is a turning point needs to be understood in its historical perspective. Until 1960s, Kashmir streets used to reverberate with pro-Pakistan chants , hailing Pakistani military rulers  Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, both of whom  launched wars against India in 1965 and 1971. A  lull followed only after Pakistan was squarely defeated in 1971 war that had also resulted in creation of Bangladesh , replacing East Pakistan from the map.

But Pakistan gained in perception when it started terror activities in Kashmir.. It worked on a very well-thought-out strategy – inciting and involving Kashmir youth in  anti-India plans.  The arms and ammunition was Pakistani, but Kashmiri youth was used to fire the weapons . It sought to give a local colour and profile to its terrorism in Kashmir, but soon it realized that Kashmiri youth were not willing to  bite Pakistani bait for long, so it started sending Pakistani terrorists into J&K. That generated a lot of anger against Pakistan , but that did not manifest  because there was all pervading  fear of Pakistani terrorist groups  known for their murderous brutalities.

Another disturbing  fact was that the political narrative of Kashmir-centric parties  was not different from the secessionists . The separatist groups  All Parties Hurriyat Conference and other splinter groups  were expanding  Pakistan’s interests in Jammu and Kashmir. They would  criticize India and  challenge country’s human rights record , while praising Pakistan . The bigger problem emanated from Delhi , which alternated between reaching out to militant groups  and  Pakistan , as it had made Pakistan a pivot in Kashmir solution .

During the course of second round table conference on Kashmir in Srinagar in May 2006,  then Prime Minister  Dr. Manmohan Singh had  invoked to dimensions of Kashmir issue – internal , in which he suggest dialogue  with the  stakeholders within Jammu and Kashmir, including both factions f Hurriyat Conference and separatist leaders out of the conglomerate .. Second , it placed  emphasis on involving Pakistan in talks  to address external dimensions . Pakistan was made a party to the crisis , according credibility to Islamabad’s claim that it had a role to play in realizing aspirations of the Kashmiris “ struggling for their right  of self—determination.” Analysts felt that the Congress government of the day gave official entry to Pakistan in Kashmir affairs instead of building firewalls for Islamabad-Rawalpindi combine .