Pak kills Kashmiri intellectual Dr Ghulam Abbas in Kotli, POK

Kashmiri intellectual Dr Ghulam Abbas was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the wee hours of Monday at Kotli, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). Dr Ghulam Abbas was a votary of inter-faith harmony in Kashmir and was a liberal leader who had no personal enmity. Local Kashmiris said that anybody who talks about the rights of Kashmiris and is a votary of inter-faith coexistence comes under the hit list of Pakistan’s ISI.

“In all likelihood the unidentified gunmen were hired by the ISI to kill Dr Ghulam Abbas. He was such a nice man who was loved by everyone in Kotli,” a local Kashmiri wrote on his Facebook post. Interestingly, this post was deleted within an hour.

Dr Ghulam Abbas had come to Kotli from Canada to attend the funeral of his father but was himself shot dead at his home. At around 4 AM on Monday morning, armed men rang the doorbell of his house and when Dr Ghulam Abbas opened the door, he was shot dead.

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) has strict rules for Kashmiris wherein the locals have to compulsorily toe Pakistan Army’s line. Anyone who deviates from the diktats of Pakistan Army is eliminated. Dr Ghulam Abbas was one such intellectual. He talked about unemployment, education and right to dignified living for the local Kashmiris in POK. And was finally eliminated on Monday by unidentified gunmen at the behest Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI.