The United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) has issued a scathing condemnation of the brutal terrorist attack that shook the town of Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22nd, 2025, in which at least 26 innocent tourists lost their lives and dozens more were injured.
In a joint statement released from exile, UKPNP Chairman Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, Central Spokesperson Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee Jamil Maqsood, and other senior leaders expressed “serious concern over the barbaric act” that targeted civilians in one of Kashmir’s most scenic and historically peaceful locations.
“This deliberate targeting of civilians is a grave crime against humanity,” the statement declared. “The UKPNP extends its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the victims and their families, and wishes a swift and full recovery to all those injured.”
The attack, which unfolded during peak tourist season, has sent shockwaves across the region and drawn condemnation from rights groups, civil society organisations, and governments around the globe. However, the UKPNP, a long-standing voice for a secular and democratic Kashmir, insists this latest tragedy is part of a broader, more insidious trend.
“Jammu and Kashmir, once celebrated for its Sufi traditions, cultural harmony, and pluralistic heritage, has been tragically transformed into a battleground for extremist ideologies and sectarian violence,” the UKPNP leadership said. “The weaponisation of religion and the use of terror as a political tool have devastated its social fabric and eroded centuries of peaceful coexistence.”
The party, founded on the principles of non-violence and democracy, reiterated its opposition to “all forms of terrorism, extremism, communalism, and regionalism,” calling on “all peace-loving nations and civil society actors to unite in a collective stand against these destructive forces that threaten the values of coexistence and human dignity.”
The Pahalgam massacre is not an isolated incident, UKPNP leaders warn. Since the 1980s, when the proxy war in Kashmir escalated, the region has witnessed a systematic campaign of terror targeting a broad swath of society: tourists, political workers, minorities, academics, and everyday civilians have all been in the crosshairs.
“This decades-long conflict has claimed the lives of over 150,000 to 200,000 people and left countless families torn apart,” the party stated. “The historical State of Jammu and Kashmir has remained forcibly divided since the October 22nd, 1947 invasion by Pakistan, which marked the beginning of a prolonged period of bloodshed, displacement, and foreign interference.”
The UKPNP contends that a genuine and lasting solution to Kashmir’s turmoil lies in neither violence nor partition but in reunification. “The only just and durable resolution to this longstanding conflict lies in the establishment of a united, secular, and democratic Jammu and Kashmir, in line with the aspirations of its people and in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions,” the party said.
The group called upon all governments—particularly those of India and Pakistan—to “fulfill their fundamental duty of protecting the lives, liberty, and property of all citizens” and to “take immediate and decisive action to eliminate the roots of terrorism, extremism, and communal violence from the region.”
Echoing a wider call to action, UKPNP urged global institutions to step in. “We call upon the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and the international community at large to intensify efforts in halting the ongoing bloodshed and terror in Kashmir and to play an active role in fostering a peaceful and lasting resolution to the conflict.”
Perhaps most urgently, the party demanded swift justice for the victims of the Pahalgam attack. “UKPNP demands that those responsible for the atrocious terrorist attack in Pahalgam be apprehended and brought to justice without delay, and that all such crimes against humanity be prosecuted with the utmost urgency and transparency.”
For now, as Kashmir reels from yet another spasm of terror, the UKPNP’s message is clear: the path forward lies not in retaliation or religious fervour, but in unity, democracy, and peace.
