SRINAGAR: A day after two migrant labourers were killed in a terror attack in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday questioned the Centre’s claims on the security situation in the Union Territory and called for a high-level, impartial investigation into the recent killings.
Expressing condolences to the families of the victims, Choudhary said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were “tired of condemning” terror attacks and wanted an end to militancy.
He said the Centre had revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, reorganised the erstwhile state and promised that terrorism would be eliminated.
“Six years later, if innocent people are still being killed, the Centre must explain whether its experiment has failed,” Choudhary told reporters.
The Deputy Chief Minister referred to the killing of a police constable in Anantnag on July 22 and the killing of two migrant labourers in Kulgam on July 31, claiming the incidents followed the National Conference’s July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to constitute a high-level committee to conduct a free and impartial probe into the recent terror attacks and identify those responsible for disrupting peace.
Questioning official assertions that the security situation had normalised, Choudhary asked how militants continued to carry out attacks despite heightened security arrangements, including those in place for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra and the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations.
He said responsibility must be fixed through a credible investigation and added that if Pakistan was found to be behind the attacks, the Centre should take the strongest possible action.
Jammu and Kashmir Jal Shakti Minister Javed Ahmed Rana also condemned the Kulgam killings, describing the attack as unfortunate and expressing solidarity with the families of the two migrant labourers who had come to Kashmir to earn their livelihood.
