KL Report
SRINAGAR
Terming the latest arrest spree of youth and political leaders as atrocious and undemocratic Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Saturday said such repressive methods deepen the existing level of alienation among the people.
In a statement, the party Chief Spokesperson, Naeem Akhtar said the ruling government can’t silence the genuine voices of people, who are fighting for justice and democratic rights, by such barbaric methods. He said, “instead of providing a genuine democratic space to the young people, political opponents and relating with them, the government is resorting to crackdown to stifle the voice of dissent.”
He further said that instead of real ‘hand holding of the youth’, Omar Abdullah is handcuffing and subjecting them to humiliation and inhuman treatment inside the police lockups thus making their lives miserable. “By lodging FIRs against more than 10 thousand young people, over the last five years, the chief minister has played a damaging role in destroying their careers,” Akhtar said, adding that 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.
The statement quoted Akhtar saying that it is ironical that a minister, who was forced to resign, against whom a case of molestation has been lodged, is roaming free, while the political opponents are being pushed into jails. He said, “it is obviously the state which has facilitated Shabir Khan’s continued escape from the law, as without the government complicity a person, who is guarded by police 24 hours, couldn’t have avoided arrest.”
Naeem asserted that in normal discourse an idea should have been answered by an idea but here it is ‘the repressive methods like PSA, Chili Grenades, Pepper Guns’ etc. doing the talking which have pushed the young population to the wall. “Fact of the matter is that the Chief Minister has presided over a system, which is totally anti-youth,” he said adding it is shameful that even political stalwart like Syed Ali Shah Geelani is not allowed to offer his Friday prayers regularly.
