'Punitive actions won't help': Sajad Lone on FIRs against students cheering Pakistan's T20 win

Srinagar: Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone on Tuesday said punitive actions against the Kashmiri youth will not help as they have not helped in the past as well. Referring to the registration of two FIRs against the medical students in the valley for celebrating Pakistan's victory over India in the Sunday’s T20 international cricket match at Dubai, Lone said he “does not see anti-Indianism or pro-Pakistanism as an irreversible condition”. “I strongly disagree. If you think that they are not patriotic enough because they cheered for another team- u should have the courage and the belief to wean them back if u think they have gone patriotically astray. Punitive actions won’t help. Have not helped in the past either,” Lone said on Twitter.

I strongly disagree. If you think that they r not patriotic enough because they cheered for another team- u should have the courage and the belief to wean them back if u think they have gone patriotically astray. Punitive actions won’t help. Have not helped in the past either. https://t.co/xtHnpViX1S

— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) October 26, 2021

He was reacting to a tweet calling for the suspension of the students. The Peoples Conference chairman said, “We live in Kashmir and have to live with those who are ideologically opposed to us”. “But we’re confident that it is a game of narratives of discourses. And that we will win. We will convince all about the goodness of our ideology. We will prevail. But that that is if u allow us to,” he said.

We live in Kashmir and have to live with those who r ideologically opposed to us. But we’re confident that it is a game of narratives of discourses. And that we will win. We will convince all about the goodness of our ideology. We will prevail. But that that is if u allow us to.

— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) October 26, 2021

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“We don’t see anti Indianism or pro-Pakistanism as an irreversible condition. It is at best a curable disease. Let us cure it. Allow us to cure it. Trust me. Punitive actions can worsen the disease,” he added in another tweet.

We don’t c anti indianism or pro pakistanism as an irreversible condition. It is at best a curable disease. Let us cure it. Allow us to cure it. Trust me. Punitive actions can worsen the disease.

— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) October 26, 2021

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Meanwhile, CPI (M) secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik termed the FIR as “unwarranted, unnecessary” and demanded immediate rollback of the charges against the students. “The past experiences reveal that such punitive actions have not helped in achieving any results nor it will have any desired outcome this time. Winning and losing is part of any game and in a democratic setup everybody has a choice to cheer up for his favourite team or a player,” Malik said. He said there are such examples where Indian fans gave standing ovation to Pakistan cricket team after its victory and same things happened with Pakistani crowds cheering up for the India team. In 1999, Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to victorious Pakistan side. The crowd applauded the fact that Pakistan on that day was the better of the two sides. The Pakistani team reciprocated in kind to the crowd’s gesture, taking a victory lap around the ground. Nobody become anti-national if he supports one team or the other, he said. Malik urged upon Jammu and Kashmir administration to immediately revoke the charges framed against the medical college students and help them to continue their degrees.