Srinagar: Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone on Sunday claimed that security cover of several leaders associated with the recently floated People’s Alliance for Change (PAC) has been withdrawn, terming the move as politically suggestive.
After PAC formation, statements of criticism had begun surfacing from various quarters, including across the Line of Control, Lone said in a press release here.
The Handwara MLA said the first statements came from Ghulam Mohammad Safi, a veteran Hurriyat Conference figure, and Naseebuddin, an affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Both these leaders are based across the border in Pakistan, he said, adding that a similar response followed from Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, a former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I had personally met Bhat Sahib along with my younger brother Imran just a few days ago. I respect him deeply as a courageous man. But the public statement he made was contrary to what he told us in person,” Lone said.
He said that even more concerning was a threat received from a militant outfit in Pakistan, suggesting that the formation of the alliance had unsettled several actors both within and outside Jammu and Kashmir.
Lone hit out at the administration for “deliberate withdrawal of security cover from senior politicians associated with the alliance.” He claimed that former minister and senior political figure Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen had his security scaled down by 80 per cent.
“Hakeem Sahib survived a deadly attack in the 1990s. He was shot, and only God knows how he survived. That incident alone stands as proof that the one who protects is greater than the one who seeks to kill,” he said.
“We are not here to beg for security. Nor are we here to complain. I just want to place it in the public domain that even security is now being politicised,” Lone added.
