Jammu and Kashmir terror attack an 'intelligence failure', Article 370 move has not ended violence: Shiv Sena (UBT)

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday claimed the deadly attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam was the result of an "intelligence failure" and maintained issues facing the Union Territory are not going to get resolved by threatening Pakistan.

In a sharply worded editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Uddhav Thackeray-led party rued that nullification of Article 370, which provided special status to the erstwhile state, has not ended violence in the Kashmir Valley, where Hindus are still being "targeted".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrated a "political festival" after the contentious provision of the Constitution was revoked in 2019, but left Hindus in the lurch, alleged the opposition outfit, attacking its former ally.

Since the August 5, 2019, measure, as many as 197 security personnel, 135 civilians and 700 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir, the editorial claimed.

Terrorists struck a prime tourist location in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists from other states.

Where is National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, who poses as "James Bond"? the Marathi daily asked.

"After Pulwama (strike in 2019), the Pahalgam attack was a failure of intelligence agencies," the editorial averred.

The BJP has sought West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation for violence against Hindus in her state, but the national saffron party is not ready to take the responsibility for the massacre of Hindus (in Pahalgam), it noted.

The publication maintained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lied when he said the 2016 demonetisation will "break the backbone" of terrorism.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted terrorism had ended in the Kashmir Valley after Article 370 was nullified, but blood is being shed there everyday, it said.

"There are no signs of violence ending in the Valley. Hindus are being targeted. And promises made to (displaced) Kashmiri Pandits have not been realised. On the contrary, Hindus are fleeing (the Valley). The BJP, which claims to be the messiah of Hindus, should be ashamed of it," the editorial emphasised.

The Centre is governing Jammu and Kashmir through the Lieutenant Governor, but cries and wails emanating from Pahalgam has made it evident how efficient that is, the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece said.

Issues are not going to get resolved by threatening Pakistan. This will only make "bhakts" (BJP supporters) feel good, it stated.

"Who will protect Hindus? It is their (the BJP) business to cry and wail after Hindus die and then blame Pakistan and Muslims. This also happened after Pulwama (attack)," the daily said.

Attacking the BJP-led central government, the editorial alleged that hate on religious lines is being spread throughout the country for the last ten years.