The terrorist attack in Pampore has been strongly condemned by the leaders of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who have termed it an attack on the future of Kashmiri youth.
Two terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba had attacked Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) building on Tuesday and the 56-hour standoff between security forces and terrorists reduced the riverside multi-storey building into a charred skeleton, leaving the future of hundreds of Kashmiri students in the dark.
Both the terrorists were killed in the gun battle with security forces.
Junaid Qureshi, Amsterdam-based Kashmiri writer and journalist, said that such attacks were part of Pakistan’s deliberate strategy to target education and educational establishments in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Ignorance is the foundation of terrorism and it is ignorance which is being promoted in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan, so that their propaganda can find a foothold,” Junaid said.
"For three months now, schools in the valley are closed. This particular education establishment in Pampore was targeted earlier as well. There seems to be a deep rooted conspiracy to target education in order to Talibanize Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
"After getting our children killed, ruining our economy and turning this paradise into hell, what is next on the agenda? Make us illiterate and beggars. I fail to comprehend the audacity of those who think that the blockade of education will solve the Kashmir issue and bring Azadi. And even if it does bring a Talibanised inspired solution, what happens next? What do we Kashmiris do if our next generations cannot read and write? What happens to our society? It is highly condemnable that our education and next generation are being attacked in this way," he said.
Jamil Maqsood, Secretary-Foreign Affairs of PoK based United Kashmir People's National Party who operates from Brussels, said, "Pakistan backed terrorists are destroying infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, the reason is very simple, they are ignorant and brainwashed by the security establishment of Pakistan. Targeting state educational institutions and other premises shows their intentions".
Praising the Indian Army’s “surgical strikes”, Jamil said terrorist camps need to be washed out from wherever they exist in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
"Pakistan doesn't need surgical strikes. That country needs a major surgical operation so that the terrorist infrastructure can be properly dismantled," he added.
Col. (Retired) Wajahat Hassan Khan, who hails from Gilgit Baltistan, also strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the JKEDI in Pampore.
"I strongly condemn this type of terrorist activity, which target educational institutions. It's an attack on Kashmiri youth and is designed to deny them skill development," he said.
