Srinagar
Chairperson Hurriyat Conference (m) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has strongly criticized the Government for repeatedly putting downtown areas of Srinagar city under curfew and restrictions to inconvenience and harass the people residing there and punish them for their support to the people’s movement.
Mirwaiz said all trade and daily activities of the people of the area are severely affected by these “arbitrary and inhuman restrictions” and it is causing psychological trauma to them.
Referring to the incident at Bahmnoo village of Pulwama in which a young boy Jehangir Wagay has been greviously injured, Mirwaiz said, that CASO operations by forces, are becoming a routine, particularly in towns and villages which result in killings and injuries to civilians by the forces and “destruction and damage to the properties of residents”. This is a matter of grave concern and anguish.
In a statement, Mirwaiz said while general Kashmiris are being targeted through bullets and pellets, simultaneously resistance leadership, their aides and activists, human right groups, intellectuals, newspaper offices, civil society members, traders, business community are also being targeted and harassed for their association with the people’s movement.
He said as per the report in an Indian leading newspaper the Intelligence Department CID has admitted to preparing a data bank of “secessionist” writers, academicians, retired judges and information about them is being collected by the department.
Mirwaiz said a notice by NIA has now been sent to members of his family summoning them to New Delhi for questioning. He said it is shameful that now my relatives are being harassed, for the simple reason of being my relatives to build pressure on me.
He said both my uncles who have been served notices by the NIA are respected retired high level government officers, who have served the people of the state with honesty and integrity. To subject them to harassment and intimidation for being my relatives is painful to me and a highly ignoble act.
Mirwaiz said that if harassing and squeezing people of Kashmir and leadership from all sides is being considered as a way of doing away with the Kashmir dispute and is the much publicized “final solution” by those in power, then those who are pursuing this will be hugely disappointed.
The Kashmir dispute and the struggle of its brave people for self-determination for the past 70 years derives its life and succor from universal principles of liberty and justice. Values and Ideals that have and will stand all tests of oppression and will eventually prevail.
Mirwaiz paid tributes to the two militants Kifayat Ahmed and Jehangir Khanday killed by the forces in Pulwama today and said the sacrifices of our young people is our asset and will always be.
