Srinagar, Feb 16: National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Saturday expressed disappointment over a resolution passed in an all-party meeting in Delhi for not including in it an appeal to maintain calm in the wake of violence in Jammu and tension in other states over the Pulwama suicide attack.
An all-party meeting, called by the government and attended by senior leaders of all major parties, passed a resolution condemning the attack and the support being given to it from across the border. Members of the opposition extended support to the government in tackling the challenge.
“Disappointed the resolution did not include a call for calm. Reports of violence in Jammu & tension in university/college campuses in some states, I would have expected an appeal for calm to have gone with the condemnation & condolences,” Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
The winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir was rocked by massive anti-Pakistan protests during a general strike called by Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) on Friday. People took to the streets to denounce the militant attack and also held candlelight rallies to pay tributes to the CRPF personnel killed in it.
Nine people, including some policemen, were injured in stone-pelting incidents on Friday and a number of vehicles were torched and damaged. The curfew in Jammu city continued on Saturday and the Army staged flag marches in sensitive localities.
In Uttarakhand, some Kashmiri youths studying in the state capital of Dehradun have alleged that they were harassed and have been asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties in the aftermath of the deadliest attack on security forces in Kashmir. Kashmiri students in Haryana also said they are being harassed and asked to vacate their rested accommodations.
Omar Abdullah also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and sought his intervention to ensure safety of Kashmiri students and traders in various parts of the country.
In his 30-minute-long meeting with the Home minister, Omar also requested Singh to make sure that peace returns to the Jammu region.
“Just met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sb to personally pay my condolences for the tragic deaths in Pulwama on Thursday. I requested him to take all steps necessary to ensure Jammu remains calm (sic),” Omar wrote on Twitter.
“I took the opportunity to inform Rajnath Singh Sb of the reports I had received of Kashmiri students & others being threatened/harassed and requested him to appoint a nodal officer in HMO India to ensure the directive issued to states is followed in letter & spirit (sic),” he said.
In the time of grief, don’t get divided: Mehbooba to all
Srinagar, Feb 16: Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Saturday cautioned that mischievous elements must not be allowed to use the Pulwama suicide attack as “an excuse to persecute or harass people” from the state, saying the pain of the killings of CRPF personnel must not fuel “such diabolical plans”.
“Understand the pain & (and) anguish. But we musnt (must not) allow such mischievous elements to use this as an excuse to persecute / harass people from J&K. Why should they suffer for somebody else’s action? We need to be united instead of letting people exploit our fears,” Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.
The PDP president’s remarks came following violent protests in Jammu and reports of Kashmiri students being targeted in colleges and universities at some places outside the state.
“In this (this) time of grief & outrage, attempts will be made to divide us. Religions & identities will be pitted against each other. Hindu vs (versus) Mus (Muslims). Jam (Jammu) vs Kash (Kashmir). Our pain musnt (must not) fuel such diabolical plans. Because eventually, the axe forgets but the tree remembers,” the former chief minister said in another tweet.
