THE Indian security forces in Held Kashmir have for some time past been oppressing the people of Kashmir heavily, who frequently come out on the streets in large numbers to protest at the continued illegal and brutal occupation of their homeland, maintained at the cost of their lives and peaceful existence. New Delhi, unwilling to honour its commitment to let Kashmiris decide their political future, would undoubtedly opt out of its forceful stranglehold, and unable to bludgeon them into accepting its rule, has also tried to have recourse to certain devious means, like devising plans to somehow convert the massive Muslim majority into a minority. Some time back, India's puppet Srinagar government allotted a big chunk of land to a Hindu shrine for the yatrees to put up buildings there, which because of its serious and far-reaching implications, was greatly resented by the people. The ensuing protests resulted in a fairly large number of casualties and disruption of business activity and life in general. Although the decision to allot the land was reversed, there are indications that it might be revived. In the period following 9/11 the Indians found it convenient to dub the freedom fighters terrorists and drum up the so-called existence of training camps for Kashmiri infiltrators. New Delhi exploited to the hilt the Western suspicion that Pakistan was not fully cooperating in the anti-terror war and, in that climate, raised its level of oppression by several notches. Murders, abductions, rape and other possible means of torture were freely employed. On Friday, eight persons were killed and an important Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik among dozens others injured, when thousands marched in Shopian shouting the slogan, "We want freedom." President Zardari, who has promised good news about the disputed state soon, is fully aware of the Kashmiris' yearning, for which they have sacrificed hundreds of thousands of their kith and kin. His government should devote its full energies towards realising it.