Jammu Kashmir Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara, Sajad Lone, on Thursday expressed serious concern over increasing reports of harassment of Kashmiris in different parts of the country, urging the central government to ensure their safety and dignity. In a post on X, Lone wrote: “Reports of harassment of Kashmiris across India are coming in. Stereotyping of a Kashmiri unfortunately is a favourite hobby across the country… it has become more chronic in the last decade.” He added that “lakhs of Kashmiris” living across India for various purposes were at constant risk, and their families feared that any adverse incident could endanger their loved ones. While acknowledging the presence of “radical lunatics” in every society, Lone said they remained an exception whose actions should not dictate attitudes towards Kashmiris. Acknowledging that extremist elements exist in every society, Lone described them as “an aberration” and cautioned against allowing such individuals to define an entire community. He warned that, in the case of Kashmir, the objective of these elements appeared to be to ensure that Kashmiris were “harassed and chased away in their own country”, thereby fuelling cycles of alienation. Lone appealed to the Prime Minister and the Union Home Ministry to ensure that no citizen, including Kashmiris, was subjected to harassment anywhere in the country.