Srinagar, Feb 7: The suicide bombing inside the Khadija Tul Kubra Shia mosque in Islamabad last Friday, which claimed 32 lives, sent shockwaves across Kashmir. News of the attack spread rapidly through Srinagar, Baramulla, and Budgam, evoking grief and anger among residents already familiar with the pain of conflict. By Saturday, protests erupted across the valley. In Hanjiwera, Baramulla, demonstrators blocked the national highway, chanting slogans such as "Pakistan Murdabad," expressing fury over Pakistan's perceived failure to protect its citizens from sectarian violence. "At a time when Muslims across the globe are under attack, Shia Muslims are targeted in Pakistan. What could be more shameful?" said a protester in Pattan. Yet in Kashmir, the tragedy transcended sectarian lines. Prominent Shia leader Aga Syed Hassan al-Mousavi al-Safvi called the attack a "barbaric assault on humanity," while Sunni religious authority Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed it as "deeply painful and strongly condemnable," emphasising the violation of a sanctuary and the moral obligation of the ummah to stand united. The unified response stood in stark contrast to official reactions from Pakistan, where Defence Minister Khawaja Asif alleged "Indian collusion," claims dismissed by Kabul and New Delhi as baseless. Kashmir's communities, by contrast, sent a clear message: solidarity, not division, is the response to terrorism. From the protesters on the highway to religious leaders across sects, Kashmiris demonstrated that the terrorists' goal of sowing sectarian hatred would not succeed.