In a provocative display amid escalating tensions in Jammu and Kashmir, protesters at Srinagar’s iconic Lal Chowk have raised the Iranian flag, drawing sharp condemnation from filmmaker and activist Ashok Pandit. Taking to Instagram, Pandit voiced deep alarm over the ongoing violent demonstrations, likening them to the dark days of the 1990 Kashmiri Pandit exodus.
Pandit highlighted the chilling continuity of radical rhetoric, recalling infamous slogans from 1990 such as ‘What do we want? Freedom! What does freedom mean? La ilaha illallah!’ and ‘Infidels, leave Kashmir! Kashmir will become Pakistan.’ He pointed to recent chants of ‘Kashmir will become Hezbollah,’ underscoring a persistent threat of Islamic extremism that he claims remains unchanged even in 2026.
‘These so-called protesters and their enablers are hell-bent on shattering India’s unity,’ Pandit wrote, urging the central government to act decisively before it’s too late. He criticized the silence from local leaders, including those from the BJP, and the massive public participation in these street agitations across the Valley and Ladakh.
The bold act of hoisting the Iranian flag at Lal Chowk, a historic symbol of Indian nationalism, speaks volumes about the protesters’ audacity, Pandit asserted. As a survivor of the 1990s massacres and ethnic cleansing, he called for a nationwide crackdown on such internal threats to safeguard the country’s security.
‘We stayed silent then, we cannot afford silence now,’ he emphasized, rallying citizens to stand united against forces undermining the nation. The government’s response will be closely watched as Kashmir simmers with unrest.