National Conference on Sunday demanded that the Government should conduct a transparent forensic inquiry to ascertain the cause of death in the case of the Shalimar teenager, Qaiser Sofi who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Shalimar and later admitted to the hospital where he finally succumbed.Demanding a time-bound, transparent inquiry, Former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and MLA Eidgah Mubarak Gul and NC State Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu have strongly condemned the barbaric police action on the young boy’s funeral in Eidgah and said this heartless behaviour had become an indelible trademark of the Mehbooba Mufti Government.“There are varying and different accounts and narratives explaining the circumstances that led to the death of the young boy and it is hence imperative that the Government – through a completely transparent and objective process – conducts an inquiry to ascertain the truth. Regardless of the cause, the loss suffered by the family is inconsolable and our hearts go out to them. We stand in solidarity with them in this time of mourning and grief”, the party statement issued to KNS said.
Former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mubarak Gul said the incident of teargas shelling on the funeral of the deceased was shameful and reflected poorly on the belated softness of the Chief Minister in pretending to be grieved by the loss of young lives in the current unrest. “You cannot fool the people by talking about clemency for the youth while teargassing funerals of young children. These are contradictory signs that expose the hypocrisy of the PDP-BJP Government. They have waged a war against the youth of the State and their alternating rhetoric cannot conceal their sadism”, Mubarak Gul said in the statement.NC Spokesperson Junaid Mattu, while expressing heartfelt condolences with the family of young Qaiser, said a transparent probe into the circumstances and causes of his death would ensure the truth is not distorted to further add to the misery of his grieved family. “The Government should deal with this – and all such cases – with utmost sensitivity and an underlying sense of responsibility. There is an enormous trust deficit in the State and the people are extremely doubtful of all government accounts and hence the Government should be even more professional and systematic in conducting such investigations”, the NC Spokesperson added.
Former Speaker Mubarak Gul and Spokesperson Junaid Mattu also condemned the unabated wave of indiscriminate arrests across the Valley and said repression wasn’t going to assuage the anger on the ground but would further compound it. “When the Government was expected to finally behave in a reconciliatory and humane manner in dealing with the aggravated youth, they are rather going out of their way to torment, intimidate and hound thousands of young boys across the Valley. While thousands of young men are languishing in jails and thousands more are being held up in Police Stations, Mehbooba Mufti’s claims of leniency and clemency are ridiculous. Her deeds speak louder than her words”, the statement further added. “National Conference is also extremely alarmed at the enormous mess and chaos that is plaguing our vital education sector and wants the Chief Minister to take the responsibility for her misplaced priorities in projecting a false sense of normality instead of restoring actual, sustainable normalcy in the State. We hope the Chief Minister realizes how her Government is toying with the future of thousands of young children and hence with the future of our State”, the statement added. (KNS)