Kashmiri army man's killing needs an honest appraisal of the ground reality

As the months pass, violence is claiming an ever-widening compass of victims in Kashmir

On May 9, Umar Fayaz Parray, a 22-year-old army officer from Kulgam district in South Kashmir, was abducted and killed. He was home on a fortnight’s leave from the Akhnoor sector in Jammu, where he was posted. According to local journalists, he had already spent 12 days at his home in Sudsona village. Parray was at his cousin’s wedding in neighbouring Shopian district when he was kidnapped.

As news of the killing broke on Wednesday, Parray’s name was swept up in a social media storm. His death was condemned by a range of public figures, from Defence Minister Arun Jaitley