KL Report
SRINAGAR
Strongly condemning the latest crackdown on the youth of the Srinagar city, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Saturday said it is the height of arrogance and insensitivity that the people are not even being allowed to live in peace in this holy month of Ramzan, by the National Conference regime, a party statement said.
“Apparently on the instructions of the ruling party politicians, hundreds of youth across the city have been rounded up and locked up on false pretexts, over the last many weeks, in Srinagar, which has created an atmosphere of fear and terror amongst the people pushing the situation to pre-2002 dark era,” the party General Secretary, Mohammad Dilawar Mir.
“It is atrocious and barbaric on part of the Omar Abdullah’s regime to continuously and unnecessarily harass the youth of the state especially of Srinagar, who have, otherwise, been victimized and faced the maximum brunt of its persecution and humiliation, over the last five and half years,” the statement quoted Mir as saying.
Mir said PDP is against any kind of violence, stone-pelting or disruption of peace, but this government through its wrong policies is adding to the confrontation with the young generation.
“On one hand NC resorting to repression and on the other jobs are being sold in open market, backdoor has been now made regular mode of employment and credibility of the institutions has been grossly compromised. This government has adopted an anti-youth policy since it took over the reins of the state in 2009 and, unfortunately, it is still continuing with that,” he said.
Mir said by using the police and other security agencies as a ‘tool to unleash reign of terror’ in the city, the ruling dispensation is further deteriorating the situation.
“It looks on the directions of the National Conference agents, the youth are being picked up and put up in lock ups and implicated in false cases, which is highly unjustifiable, undemocratic and inhuman,” he said.
“It is ironical that on one hand the NC agents are calling for amnesty for the youth and on the other they are collaborating in putting them behind the bars,” he added.
Mir said the police stations have become money minting centres for the ruling party politicians, where ‘in league with’ some police officers they are extracting money from the victims in lieu of their release. “NC agents have turned police stations into remunerative business centres. They first take money for identification from agencies and later broker their (victims) release for money,” he added.
Mir said after facing the drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, had claimed to have his learnt his ‘lessons’, but even now when his tenure is coming to an end, his government is becoming crueller.
He said the people behind bars are normally being released during such auspicious days, but the NC-led government is following a different approach and is again using force, its ‘favourite’ tool, to make its presence felt on the ground.
The statement further quoted Mir saying that instead of providing a genuine democratic space to the young people, political opponents and relating with them, the government is resorting to crackdown to suppress the voice of dissent. “By lodging FIRs against more than 10 thousand young people, over the last five years, the chief minister has played a pivotal role in damaging and destroying their careers,” said Mir adding the 2010 summer killings, hanging of Mohammad Afzal Guroo, last year’s Gool, Shopian and Markundal atrocities are the painful sagas, which have brutally effected the conscience of everyone and the present government can’t absolve itself of the crimes and the war it let loose on the people.
Moreover, citing example of the blatant transfers in the police force, Mir said in order to further their nefarious designs, the ruling party politicians ensure posting of ‘blue eyed’ officers in their own areas.
Demanding immediate transfer of newly appointed SDPO Kangan, who is reportedly responsible for ‘hatching conspiracy’ to target Bashir Ahmad Mir, the party candidate for Kangan assembly segment in 2008, the PDP General Secretary said the NC is again on mission to create uncertainty on the ground and fear among the people.
