“Dubbing them as militants to justify their killing is like rubbing salt on the wounds of their families.”
SRINAGAR: Leader of a prominent pro-India political party in Kashmir has condemned the shooting by security forces in Shopian district in which four people were killed.
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the youth were gunned down “in broad day light without any provocation.”
The police have said two of the slain youth were militants who had attack a camp of the paramilitary CRPF.
However Ms Mufti said “Dubbing them as militants to justify their killing is like rubbing salt on the wounds of their families.”
She added that the government was testing the patience of the people in the name of security arrangements.
“On a day when entire Kashmir has been imprisoned in the name of establishing peace through music it was a natural fallout of the situation that all Kashmir residents are viewed as suspects and the four innocent youth have fallen victim to that mind set,” she said in a statement from New Delhi.
The PDP leader said today’s incident was “one of the worst tragedies” and that it has once again highlighted the fact that people of Jammu and Kashmir are completely helpless before the security forces.
“In this situation one can only appeal the consciousness of this country and the people in rest of India who should realize the actual situation in Kashmir,” she said.
Meanwhile the CPI (M) has also condemned the killings and has called for a judicial enquiry.
CPIM state chief, MY Tarigami said such incidents were a “brazen violation of democratic norms which can only prove counterproductive”.
“Those responsible for the heinous act should be identified and brought to book,” he said.
