Wearing black bands, the opposition National Conference lawmakers and their activists Monday staged protest against the civilian killings in Kashmir and sought end to the killings and unprecedented arrests.NC lawmakers including scores of activists carried out a protest rally against the ruling PDP-BJP regime from their headquarters housed in Nawai-e-Subh and staged sit-in at Tourist Reception Centre (TRC).However, police at TRC stopped the lawmakers and didn’t allow them to march towards civil secretariat.The protesters led by Secretary General of the party and MLA Khanyar, Ali Muhammad Sagar were chanting slogans against the PDP, the party in the regime.Condemning the act of disallowing the party leaders, legislators and activists from carrying out the protest march, Sagar lashed out at the state government for unleashing a wave of tyrannical repression in the Valley where even democratic forces were being targeted and prevented from raising their voices.
The NC General Secretary said the Central Government should wake up from its deep slumber and look beyond protecting its own inefficient and inept State Government in the State and waste no further time in initiating a comprehensive and open-ended dialogue with Pakistan and the stakeholders in Kashmir, including the leadership of the Hurriyat Conference.“There is no alternative to dialogue with Pakistan and stakeholders in Kashmir. Kashmir is an unresolved political issue and has to be dealt with politically. New Delhi’s failure to acknowledge the problem in Kashmir as a political problem will have far reaching, adverse implications on the region in general and the State in particular”, the NC General Secretary said while addressing media men during the protest march.Demanding an immediate cessation of use of any form of force on protesters, the NC General Secretary said irresponsible and highly insensitive statements of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had further worsened the situation by emboldening the brutality of the response by the police and paramilitary forces on unarmed protesters.
“This State Government, despite countless pleas, has allowed the continued use of pellet guns against protesters – which has led to the blinding of hundreds of young boys and girls. The Union Home Minister should have immediately banned the use of pellet guns after his visit to the Valley but alas it seems like the Central Government is sadistically enjoying the misery and grief in Kashmir,” he said.“Kashmir issue is not any economic or social issue but a political issue. New Delhi needs to understand the changing trends. (Given the crisis), Autonomy too won’t work as Delhi will have to walk furthermore,” he said.He said that the current regime is not even allowing us to exercise normal democratic practice.The protesting lawmakers also slammed the government for banning publication of newspapers and said “now Journalists have been told not release news of government actions.”
It is worth to mention here that Party legislators, Mian Altaf Ahmed, Mubarak Gul, Shameema Firdous, Mohammad Akbar Lone, Sheikh Ishfaq Jabar, Abdul Majid Larmi, Ali Mohammad Dar, Showkat Hussain Ganai as well as Party Leaders Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Chowdhary Mohamamd Ramzan, Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Sharif-ud-din Shariq, Mir Saifullah, Mohammad Sayed Akhoon, Javed Ahmed Dar, Ghulam Nabi Ratanpuri, District President Srinagar Peer Afaq Ahmed, Provincial Secretary Advocate Showkat Ahmed Mir, Minority Cell Head Jagdish Singh Azad, Provincial Youth President Salman Ali Sagar, Irfan Ahmed Shah, Mir Ghulam Rasool Naaz, Provincial Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, Haji Ghulam Rasool Shah Nowshehri, Youth Leaders Yawar Masoodi, Sabiya Qadri, Mudassir Shahmiri and various other party office bearers took part in the protest march. (KNS)