JammuPolitical parties in Jammu and Kashmir staged separate protest demonstrations on Saturday against the BJP over killings by terrorists in the Valley.
Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit government employee, and Special Police Officer Riyaz Ahmad Thokar were killed by terrorists at Chadoora in Budgam and Pulwama on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress members came out on the streets outside their party headquarters in Shaheedi Chowk and Gandhi Nagar areas, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists staged a protest near Press Club, officials said, adding the protesters later dispersed off peacefully.
“We are holding this protest to condemn the killing of Bhat and SPO by terrorists. Every now and then, an innocent person is being killed in Kashmir as the government has miserably failed to provide a secure environment to the people,” PDP vice president Chudhary Abdul Hamid told reporters.
He demanded a high-level inquiry into the killings and adequate compensation for the bereaved families.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) activists led by working president Raman Bhalla slammed Pakistan for its alleged continued support to terrorism.
The party members also denounced the BJP-led central government for its alleged failure to stop targeted killings of innocents, especially Kashmiri Pandits and non-locals, in the Valley.
“We strongly condemn the barbaric killing of Bhat inside the high security tehsil complex. The Centre has totally failed to protect the minorities in Kashmir as targeted killings are continuing unabated,” Bhalla, a former minister, said.
Senior AAP leader and former minister Harsh Dev Singh said the BJP’s “imprudence and flawed policies” have resulted in unabated bloodshed and mayhem.
“Militancy had almost died down in Jammu and Kashmir during the popular governments but the reckless experimentation of the present rulers has resulted in gradual deterioration of the security scenario creating the early 1990s-type situation in the erstwhile state,” he said.
