The alleged murder of a thirteen-year-old girl is not just another headline. It is a deep wound on the conscience of society.
A child whose eyes should have carried dreams, whose hands should have held books, and whose face should have glowed with innocence and laughter, was instead handed over to brutality, cruelty, and unimaginable evil.
What kind of society are we becoming? A society where innocence is no longer safe. Where children grow up in fear. Where even after horrifying crimes, life resumes as though nothing happened.
The bitter truth is this: in a society where innocent girls are subjected to such barbarity, it is not only one child who dies. Humanity dies. Morality dies. The collective conscience is buried alongside the victim.
An innocent little girl left her home carrying the Holy Quran in her tiny hands, walking towards her darsgah, never knowing she would never return alive.
Before her life could blossom, she was crushed with merciless brutality by a deviant, pervert with no respect for the Holy Quran. Just imagine the mindset of those beast-like criminals who can inflict such horror upon a helpless child.
Kashmir was once called “Peer Vaer” — a land known for spirituality, compassion, moral values, and humanity.
A place where people protected the daughters of others as they would protect their own.
Today, however, we stand before a society slowly losing its soul, where humanity appears buried beneath fear, silence, drugs, moral collapse, and growing violence.
This is not merely the killing of a child. It is the murder of innocence itself. It is the collapse of values we once proudly associated with our culture and faith.
The most painful question is: How safe are our children?
Parents today live with constant fear. A child leaving home for school, tuition, madrasa, playground, or market should not feel like sending them into uncertainty.
Yet crimes against children are increasing with frightening frequency.
Behind this growing darkness lies a dangerous mix of drug abuse, pornography, moral decay, criminal behaviour, and societal silence.
Drug addiction has become a silent epidemic destroying families and distorting minds.
Substance abuse does not merely ruin the addict; it erodes judgment, weakens morality, fuels aggression, and creates dangerous predators capable of horrifying acts.
Alongside this crisis, the growing exposure to violent and perverse content through unchecked digital platforms has further poisoned vulnerable minds.
But the blame cannot rest on criminals alone.
A society also becomes guilty when it chooses silence over responsibility.
We have become spectators. Too many people watch, whisper, record videos, spread rumours, or discuss tragedies over tea, yet fail to intervene, report suspicious behaviour, protect vulnerable children, or stand united against evil.
Afsoos… we are slowly becoming a city of vultures and insensitive onlookers.
Evil triumphs when good people choose silence, remain indifferent, and fail to stand against the wicked acts of the devil.
What makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking is that it occurred during some of the holiest and most blessed days of the year — days when people are engaged in taubah, istighfar, prayer, charity, and seeking closeness to Allah.
Yet even in such sacred times, a horrifying crime against an innocent child could take place.
It shakes the soul. It forces society to confront an unbearable truth: rituals alone cannot save a society whose conscience has fallen asleep.
Wake up, Kashmir.
No civilisation survives when its children become unsafe.
No society can claim morality while predators roam freely among its streets.
No amount of development, politics, speeches, or economic progress matters if parents cannot trust that their children will return home safely.
This is the time for collective awakening.
Families must become more vigilant. Communities must rebuild moral responsibility.
Religious institutions, schools, mohalla committees, civil society groups, teachers, doctors, psychologists, and law enforcement agencies must work together to create a protective environment around children.
Children must be taught personal safety, awareness, and the confidence to report threats without fear or shame.
Schools should conduct awareness programmes about abuse prevention and psychological safety.
Drug addiction must be treated not merely as a criminal issue but as a full-scale social emergency destroying the moral fabric of society.
Law enforcement agencies also deserve support when they act swiftly and firmly.
The people expect justice that is visible, decisive, and exemplary.
Such criminals deserve the harshest punishment permissible under the law so that a chilling message reaches every predator hiding behind a human face.
Sometimes one feels that only the strictest and swiftest punishment can send the strongest message against such inhuman crimes.
Society must adopt absolute zero tolerance for brutality against children, so that fear of justice deters those who prey on innocence.”
The efforts of Budgam Police under the leadership of SSP are hailed by society and are being closely watched by the public, and society hopes the investigation sends a powerful warning to criminals: do not dare to prey upon innocent children.
Justice alone, however, is not enough.
We must also revive humanity.
We need neighbours who care. Streets where children feel protected.
Communities that do not stay silent when danger appears. Parents who listen. Teachers who observe. Religious leaders who speak courageously. Media that informs responsibly rather than sensationalises pain.
Because every silent spectator indirectly strengthens evil.
The tears of a murdered child do not disappear with burial. They become questions directed at society itself.
Where were we? Why did we fail? What have we become?
As a medico and senior columnist who has consistently advocated for a healthy civil society and meaningful social reform, I believe crimes against innocent children demand the strongest lawful response and absolute zero tolerance.
Justice must be swift, visible, and uncompromising — not driven by vengeance, but by the urgent need to protect innocence, deter brutality, and send a clear message that society will not tolerate crimes against its children.
May the innocent child rest in eternal peace. May Allah grant her the highest place in Jannat-ul-Firdous, give strength and patience to her grieving family, and expose and punish every person responsible for this brutality in this world and the Hereafter.
And may society find the courage not only to mourn — but to awaken before another innocent life is lost.
Can’t we reclaim our duties and responsibilities towards a peaceful civil society?
Doctor Fiaz Maqbool Fazili is a senior columnist who writes frequently on civic and social issues in Kashmir.
The alleged murder of a thirteen-year-old girl is not just another headline. It is a deep wound on the conscience of society.
A child whose eyes should have carried dreams, whose hands should have held books, and whose face should have glowed with innocence and laughter, was instead handed over to brutality, cruelty, and unimaginable evil.
What kind of society are we becoming? A society where innocence is no longer safe. Where children grow up in fear. Where even after horrifying crimes, life resumes as though nothing happened.
The bitter truth is this: in a society where innocent girls are subjected to such barbarity, it is not only one child who dies. Humanity dies. Morality dies. The collective conscience is buried alongside the victim.
An innocent little girl left her home carrying the Holy Quran in her tiny hands, walking towards her darsgah, never knowing she would never return alive.
Before her life could blossom, she was crushed with merciless brutality by a deviant, pervert with no respect for the Holy Quran. Just imagine the mindset of those beast-like criminals who can inflict such horror upon a helpless child.
Kashmir was once called “Peer Vaer” — a land known for spirituality, compassion, moral values, and humanity.
A place where people protected the daughters of others as they would protect their own.
Today, however, we stand before a society slowly losing its soul, where humanity appears buried beneath fear, silence, drugs, moral collapse, and growing violence.
This is not merely the killing of a child. It is the murder of innocence itself. It is the collapse of values we once proudly associated with our culture and faith.
The most painful question is: How safe are our children?
Parents today live with constant fear. A child leaving home for school, tuition, madrasa, playground, or market should not feel like sending them into uncertainty.
Yet crimes against children are increasing with frightening frequency.
Behind this growing darkness lies a dangerous mix of drug abuse, pornography, moral decay, criminal behaviour, and societal silence.
Drug addiction has become a silent epidemic destroying families and distorting minds.
Substance abuse does not merely ruin the addict; it erodes judgment, weakens morality, fuels aggression, and creates dangerous predators capable of horrifying acts.
Alongside this crisis, the growing exposure to violent and perverse content through unchecked digital platforms has further poisoned vulnerable minds.
But the blame cannot rest on criminals alone.
A society also becomes guilty when it chooses silence over responsibility.
We have become spectators. Too many people watch, whisper, record videos, spread rumours, or discuss tragedies over tea, yet fail to intervene, report suspicious behaviour, protect vulnerable children, or stand united against evil.
Afsoos… we are slowly becoming a city of vultures and insensitive onlookers.
Evil triumphs when good people choose silence, remain indifferent, and fail to stand against the wicked acts of the devil.
What makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking is that it occurred during some of the holiest and most blessed days of the year — days when people are engaged in taubah, istighfar, prayer, charity, and seeking closeness to Allah.
Yet even in such sacred times, a horrifying crime against an innocent child could take place.
It shakes the soul. It forces society to confront an unbearable truth: rituals alone cannot save a society whose conscience has fallen asleep.
Wake up, Kashmir.
No civilisation survives when its children become unsafe.
No society can claim morality while predators roam freely among its streets.
No amount of development, politics, speeches, or economic progress matters if parents cannot trust that their children will return home safely.
This is the time for collective awakening.
Families must become more vigilant. Communities must rebuild moral responsibility.
Religious institutions, schools, mohalla committees, civil society groups, teachers, doctors, psychologists, and law enforcement agencies must work together to create a protective environment around children.
Children must be taught personal safety, awareness, and the confidence to report threats without fear or shame.
Schools should conduct awareness programmes about abuse prevention and psychological safety.
Drug addiction must be treated not merely as a criminal issue but as a full-scale social emergency destroying the moral fabric of society.
Law enforcement agencies also deserve support when they act swiftly and firmly.
The people expect justice that is visible, decisive, and exemplary.
Such criminals deserve the harshest punishment permissible under the law so that a chilling message reaches every predator hiding behind a human face.
Sometimes one feels that only the strictest and swiftest punishment can send the strongest message against such inhuman crimes.
Society must adopt absolute zero tolerance for brutality against children, so that fear of justice deters those who prey on innocence.”
The efforts of Budgam Police under the leadership of SSP are hailed by society and are being closely watched by the public, and society hopes the investigation sends a powerful warning to criminals: do not dare to prey upon innocent children.
Justice alone, however, is not enough.
We must also revive humanity.
We need neighbours who care. Streets where children feel protected.
Communities that do not stay silent when danger appears. Parents who listen. Teachers who observe. Religious leaders who speak courageously. Media that informs responsibly rather than sensationalises pain.
Because every silent spectator indirectly strengthens evil.
The tears of a murdered child do not disappear with burial. They become questions directed at society itself.
Where were we? Why did we fail? What have we become?
As a medico and senior columnist who has consistently advocated for a healthy civil society and meaningful social reform, I believe crimes against innocent children demand the strongest lawful response and absolute zero tolerance.
Justice must be swift, visible, and uncompromising — not driven by vengeance, but by the urgent need to protect innocence, deter brutality, and send a clear message that society will not tolerate crimes against its children.
May the innocent child rest in eternal peace. May Allah grant her the highest place in Jannat-ul-Firdous, give strength and patience to her grieving family, and expose and punish every person responsible for this brutality in this world and the Hereafter.
And may society find the courage not only to mourn — but to awaken before another innocent life is lost.
Can’t we reclaim our duties and responsibilities towards a peaceful civil society?
Doctor Fiaz Maqbool Fazili is a senior columnist who writes frequently on civic and social issues in Kashmir.
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