Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said security forces should tread cautiously in their hunt for Pahalgam terror attack perpetrators and ensure that no innocents are harmed in the process.
“We all understand the situation. It will take time. We can neither deny the situation nor shut our eyes to it. But, we also have to see that in our efforts to catch those responsible for what happened in Pahalgam, we must ensure that innocent people are not harmed,” Abdullah told reporters here.
He said the crackdown on terror should not look like “all the people of Kashmir are being detained to catch a few people responsible for the attack”.
“There is a need to remain cautious and act prudently in this, and we have conveyed our viewpoint to the concerned quarters on this issue,” he said.
On the death of a Kulgam man, who was allegedly picked up by security forces for questioning in the aftermath of the April 22 attack, the CM said it should not have happened.
“But, there are reports of arrests and detentions from various places, it is not (good) for the people of J&K, especially for the people of Kashmir who have come out for the first time to express their anger against any attack This impression should not go out that all are being punished to punish the Pahalgam attackers,” he said.
Residents of a village in Kulgam district found 22-year-old Imtiyaz Ahmad Magray’s body on Sunday amid allegations that he was taken away by security forces for questioning in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
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.
Asked about his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Abdullah said, “That is between me and the PM”.
On the nationwide mock drill taking place on Wednesday, he said, “I do not work in the MHA, I work in the government of J&K.”
“It is an MHA order, so you ask them. It is not the J&K government’s order,” he added.
The CM said the government has asked J&K State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to conduct a drill at Dal Lake and also deploy its teams there to avoid loss of lives during high-speed winds.
“The SDRF drill is not linked to Pahalgam or the mock drill. It came up in the review meeting yesterday that there had been strong winds in the evening and we saw two shikaras had capsized. We have asked the SDRF to investigate it and deploy teams there so that loss of lives is avoided in such incidents,” he said.
