Pertinently, four civilians Muhammad Iqbal, Nayeem Qadir, Jehangir Ahmad and a woman Raja Begum were killed by forces in the last two days in Kupwara district during protests.
Politicians from different mainstream parties have condemned the killing of four persons, including a woman, in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district and have expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.
Pertinently, four civilians Muhammad Iqbal, Nayeem Qadir, Jehangir Ahmad and a woman Raja Begum were killed by forces in the last two days in Kupwara district during protests.
IMRAN ANSARI
The Minister for Youth Services & Sports and senior PDP leader, Imran Raza Ansari has expressed grief and sorrow over the killing of civilians including a woman in Kupwara district by forces and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
Ansari also conveyed his solidarity to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls.
FAYAZ MIR
Senior leader of PDP and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Fayaz Ahmad Mir expressed grief and sorrow over the death of two civilians in Handwara by the forces and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
Mir also expressed solidarity with the families of the two civilians and prayed for peace to the departed souls.
He visited the residence of Muhammad Iqbal and expressed solidarity with the bereaved family.
Mir assured full support to the bereaved family and also assured them that the guilty will be punished.
YAWAR DILAWAR MIR
The PDP leader and MLA,Rafiabad Yawar Dilawar Mir expressed profound shock and grief over the gruesome killings.
In a statement, Yawar Mir strongly condemned use of bullets on unarmed people. He said such gruesome incidents are slur on the face of humanity and deserve strong condemnation by all irrespective of religion or political affiliations. He demanded an impartial judicial inquiry into the incident and court marshal of the perpetrators of this heinous crime.
While conveying his heartfelt sympathies with the bereaved families, Yawar Dilawar has prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul.
GHULAM HASSAN MIR
President of Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN) and former Agriculture minister, Ghulam Hassan Mir expressed grief and sorrow over the killings and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
He told KNS that Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti should personally intervene in this incident. “We hope under Mehbooba’s leadership, democratic institutions should not be undermined,” he said.
ER RASHID ATTENDS FUNERAL
Er Rashid who attended the last rites of the deceased persons at Handwara while talking to reporters said, “As a part of the agreement government has agreed to remove the main bunker from Handwara Chowk with a period of one month, not to name anyone from the civilians in FIR related to the incident and complete a magisterial probe within period of one month. As the part of the agreement the accused ASI Muhammad Rafiq who was allegedly involved in the firing incident, has been placed under immediate suspension. Besides government will provide maximum possible ex-gratia and other benefits to the bereaved families. Further as the part of the agreement all the persons detained since yesterday during incident and after protests were released unconditionally by the administration.”
HAKIM YASIN
While expressing shock and grief over the loss of precious lives in Kupwara district, Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) president and MLA Khan Sahib Hakim Muhammad Yasin Wednesday condemned the killings. Terming the four killings from Tuesday as an unfortunate incident, Hakim Yasin demanded probe into the incident, so that the guilty would be punished.
MLA Khan Sahib expressed sympathy with the bereaved family and prayed for the departed souls.
M Y TARIGAMI
Expressing deep shock and grief over the loss of two precious lives in Handwara, CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam M Y Tarigami condemned the killings of civilians by forces during the protests in the area.
Describing Handwara killings as ‘unfortunate’, Tarigami demanded probe. “The four killings that took place from Tuesday in Kupwara district are unfortunate,” he said.
Tarigami said that there have been enough probes, and assurances by the successive regimes over probing innocent killings in Kashmir and it was high time to do something different and concrete on ground to “stop bloodbath.”
“Every time, there is a civilian killing, we see probes being ordered followed by assurances. So far all such probes and even assurances made by politicians on the floor of the house have proved futile,” Tarigami said the government and the civil administration must adopt a unique and concrete approach to “stop murder of innocent youth.” He said there would be provocations, stone pelting, clashes, but “that doesn’t mean, forces would kill youth at their will.”
“To stop the dance of death in Kashmir, government must work out a strategy and try to do something different to ensure no more civilian dies in forces firing,” he said. “The politicians have responsibility towards people of Kashmir and we need to be extra concerned towards their safety.”
DAL KHALSA
Dal Khalsa condemned the Handwara killings and castigated the international community for remaining silent.
The party head H S Dhami and chairman of Sikhs for Human Rights Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said the thrust of forces to inflict maximum damage on Kashmiri youth was increasing with every passing day. They said the worst tragedy was that in the eyes and perception of world powers "India was still a democratic country and people struggling for their rights especially Kashmiris were "terrorists".
They apprehended that the way things were taking turns it might lead to what happened in the bloody summer of 2010. “Our heart and sympathy's goes with the families of victims of state terrorism, they said. They prayed before Almighty to grant strength to parents of deceased to bear the loss of innocent children,” they added.
PDP LEADERS SHOCKED
PDP senior leaders Nizamudin Bhat, Ghulam Mohiuddin Sofi, and Ghulam Nabi Panditpuri Wednesday expressed grief and shock over the tragic incident in Handwara.
In a statement, the leaders said that such incidents are either an outcome of criminal neglect or at times a conspiracy. “These are the aspects which need to be looked into seriously than ever,” the leaders said.
The leaders said that PDP has always been votary of human rights and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti herself has tirelessly been propounding security of life and dignity to people. “It is in this backdrop that PDP cannot bear such unfortunate incidents,” the leaders said.
The leaders said that chief minister herself is monitoring the situation. The leaders said that they took satisfaction in the fact that she is constant touch with administration, party leaders and civil society to know the facts and reach at the bottom of the incidents so that necessary measures are taken to prevent such sad and provocative incidents.
JK MINORITY FORUM
Jammu and Kashmir Minority Forum, a group of Hindus, Sikhs and Pandits from the state harshly condemned the killing of innocents in Kupwara district.
In a statement a spokesman of the Forum said, “We feel the pain of Kashmiri brothers during this hour of grief. Kashmiris are peace loving citizens who have always safeguarded minorities of the state. Forum members stated that they are with their Kashmiri brothers and sisters in this hour of grief and their heart goes to the families of those who have lost their loved ones.”
Representative of JK Forum Dr. Amit Wanchoo said, “We have seen enough bloodshed of youngsters in our state and can’t bear this pain further. Every year we see such violent acts happening in March/April while for the whole winter things are calm.” Dr. Wanchoo said, “Politicians of Kashmir irrespective of their ideology should join hands and stop killing of innocents. Let us all pledge that we won’t allow any innocent killing on the soil of Kashmir.
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