The forgotten half of the story: Why Kashmir's tragedy cannot be told through one lens alone

Stories of grief deserve empathy. A woman waiting decades to learn the fate of her missing husband is not a political talking point; she is a human being. The term 'half-widow,' used for women whose husbands disappeared during the violent years of the Kashmir insurgency, reflects genuine pain that should never be dismissed.

But pain becomes propaganda when it is stripped of context.

Recent international coverage has once again chosen to frame Kashmir almost exclusively through the suffering attributed to the Indian state, while paying scant attention to the forces that created the conflict in the first place. The result is an incomplete narrative that informs little and misleads much.

The insurgency that erupted in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989 was not a spontaneous civil movement. It coincided with Pakistan's decision to redirect battle-hardened fighters, training infrastructure and intelligence resources towards Kashmir after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Thousands of militants crossed the Line of Control over the following years.

Terrorism became institutionalised as an instrument of state policy.

The human cost was borne first and foremost by ordinary Kashmiris.

Civilians, police officers, teachers, political workers, religious leaders and journalists were assassinated. Entire minority communities, most notably the Kashmiri Pandits, were forced into exile after a campaign of targeted killings and intimidation. Tens of thousands of families, irrespective of religion, were left grieving because of terrorism that Pakistan continues to deny while many international reports barely acknowledge.

This context matters because disappearances did not occur in a vacuum.

Many of those listed as 'missing' disappeared during a brutal conflict involving terrorists, foreign fighters, cross-border infiltration and intense counter-insurgency operations. Some joined militant groups voluntarily. Some crossed into Pakistan for arms training. Some were killed in encounters. Few genuinely remain unaccounted for. Every unresolved case deserves investigation, but presenting every disappearance as evidence of state abuse is neither historically accurate nor intellectually honest.

The selective framing becomes even more problematic when viewed alongside Pakistan's own record.

Families in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and particularly Balochistan have for years alleged enforced disappearances with little international attention. Human rights organisations have repeatedly documented complaints by relatives searching for missing sons, brothers and husbands. Protest camps by families of missing persons have continued for years, yet they rarely receive sustained global media coverage comparable to Kashmir.

This double standard weakens the credibility of international reporting.

If the objective is human rights rather than politics, then victims deserve equal attention regardless of which government controls the territory. Grief should not become geographically selective.

It is equally important to recognise that Kashmir today is not frozen in the realities of the 1990s. Terrorism has declined significantly compared with its peak. Tourism has reached record levels. Elections have seen substantial participation. Infrastructure, connectivity and investment have expanded. None of this erases past suffering, but neither should past suffering erase present realities.

Journalism carries a responsibility to present complexity rather than reinforce established narratives. Reporting only one dimension of Kashmir risks perpetuating a simplified story in which there are permanent villains and permanent victims. The region's history is far more complicated.

The women described as 'half-widows' deserve justice, dignity and answers wherever possible. So do the families of civilians murdered by terrorists. So do the displaced Kashmiri Pandits. So do the relatives of police personnel, elected representatives and ordinary Kashmiris killed by militant violence. And so do families searching for missing loved ones in Pakistan-controlled territories.

Human rights are universal, or they are merely political instruments.

Kashmir's story cannot be understood by isolating one tragedy while ignoring the ecosystem of cross-border terrorism, decades of violence and the suffering inflicted by all actors involved. The international community should encourage transparency, accountability and reconciliation on every side, not amplify narratives that tell only half the story.

Because telling only half the story ultimately does a disservice to every victim.