National Conference on (NC) Thursday condemned the spate of wanton arrests of youth in Shehar-e-Khaas ahead of Eid and termed this move as a latest demonstration of PDP’s penchant for persecution and hypocrisy.In a statement issued to GNS, the NC Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu while lashing out at the PDP-BJP Government said nearly five dozen youth had been arrested in nocturnal raids in the past few days in Srinagar while hundreds were being selectively hounded and harassed. The NC Spokesperson condemned the persecution of youth in Srinagar based on their political opposition to PDP and said such behavior from the Government ahead of Eid was extremely tragic and saddening. “On one hand you have PDP leaders issuing melodramatic statements assuring us the Government would release political prisoners ahead of Eid and on the other hand you have the PDP-BJP Government starting a spree of arrests in Srinagar just a couple of days before Eid. Not only has Mufti Sayeed and his party broken the promise of releasing political prisoners they have stooped a step lower by arresting young boys in Srinagar right before Eid,” the NC spokesperson.
The NC Spokesperson said the PDP-BJP Government had forgotten the sanctity and importance of Jamat-ul-Vida (Last Friday of Ramzaan) as many young boys would now have to spend the holy day in lockups and police stations. “There is also a perception that these youth are being rounded up for extortion and intimidation at the behest of some PDP leaders from Srinagar who want to persecute and harass the youth of Shehar-e-Khaas for their loss in the Assembly Elections”, the NC Spokesperson alleged. “Let us also make it very clear that these arrests are pre-planned and have a clear political motive of retribution. The PDP-BJP Government wants to persecute and hound youth in Shehar-e-Khaas as the youth have opposed the unholy nexus of opportunism between the two parties. The youth are opposed to PDP’s shameless sell-out for power and the PDP-BJP Government holds this dissent against them”, the NC Spokesperson further stated. Demanding the immediate release of all arrested youth, National Conference Spokesperson said the party would take every necessary step to curb PDP’s “growing oppressive tendencies in the Valley”. (GNS)