Srinagar: AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday called for an effective response from India to last month’s “barbaric and cowardly” terror attack in Pahalgam.
The Hyderabad MP also sought an inquiry into the death of a Kulgam man, who was allegedly picked up by security forces for questioning in the aftermath of the April 22 attack.
“It was a terror attack, a cowardly attack. The more we condemn it, the less it is. We have seen how terrorists from Pakistan killed 26 people,” Owaisi told reporters.
The way people were killed — by separating the women and the children, and asking the men their religion — was disheartening and inhumane, he said.
“Those who couldn’t recite the Kalma were shot. This is barbaric,” he added.
Owaisi said locals in Kashmir were bearing the brunt of the attack as the tourism sector had taken a hit.
“The tourists are gone from here. We want our government to give an effective response to it (the attack). We said the same in the all-party meeting,” he said.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president further said, “We hope the government of our country will take effective action against terror and the shelter given to terrorists in the country (Pakistan) because, under Article 355 of the Indian Constitution, it is the government’s responsibility to stop external aggression. Then there is Article 51 of the UN, and the UNSC 9/11 resolution as well … we hope the government will take effective steps on it.”
Owaisi also described as “wrong” the harassment of Kashmiris outside the Union Territory.
“I want to tell the people indulging in such acts: listen to what Himanshi is saying. She saw her husband getting killed in front of her eyes, she is asking not to express hatred against Kashmiris and Muslims,” he said, referring to Himanshi Narwal, wife of Pahalgam attack victim Lieutenant Vinay Narwal.
The Hyderabad MP said it was time to defeat Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
“For that, it is important to defeat their aim of spreading hatred among the two communities. If such acts continue, then the terrorists and their country will be satisfied,” he added.
Owaisi also sought an inquiry into the death of 22-year-old Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray from Kulgam to ascertain the circumstances.
“There should be an inquiry. I have read the statements of his relatives in the media. An inquiry should be held into the circumstances of his death,” he said.
Residents of a village in Kulgam district found Magray’s body on Sunday amid allegations that he was taken away by security forces for questioning in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, and Jammu and Kashmir minister Sakina Ittoo said there were serious allegations of foul play in the death of Magray, whose body was pulled out from the Adbal stream in the district’s Aharbal area.
While police have launched an investigation, drone footage that surfaced hours after Magray’s body was recovered showed a man jumping into the gushing stream and getting washed away.
The police claimed Magray, who had confessed to being an overground worker for terrorists, tried to escape while leading security forces to a hideout in a forest area.
