Srinagar, January 4, 1990. Aftab,
a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a press release issued by Hizb-ul
Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for
Jammu and Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan,
asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order.

In the
following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir valley with Chief
Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference government
abdicating all responsibilities of the State. Masked men run amok,
waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans.