Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said in “Naya Kashmir” neither the army nor the locals are safe.
She said that army jawans lost their lives in a militant ambush on Thursday and a day later three civilians identified as Mohammed Safeer, Riyaz Hussain and Shokat Hussain were found dead near the site of the ambush in Poonch district of Jammu region.
Mehbooba said 15 locals were picked by forces from Topa Peer near Bafliaz in Poonch and three of them were found dead with injury marks.
“The bodies of three detained individuals have been found near the encounter site. The bodies are marked by torture. The remaining 12 have suffered severe injuries and are receiving treatment in the hospitals in Surankote and Poonch,” the former Chief Minister said while addressing a press conference.
The PDP President claimed that the people in the region are supposedly being “subjected to severe torture,” citing news reports and widely shared videos on the internet.
“Rajouri and Poonch belts have been peace-loving areas and there has never been any local involvement in any incident related to militancy in the region,” she asserted.
Lamenting the BJP’s assertions of normalcy, Mehbooba said that J&K has been transformed into an open prison.
“People are being held in custody. Under the UAPA, journalists face arrest for telling the truth. They now decide what can be uttered on mosque pulpits. Lives have been made miserable and government employees have been silenced,” she said.
The former CM alleged that BJP is attacking locals in an attempt to conceal its failures.
“While BJP is tormenting locals to cover up for its shortcomings, troops are providing services and giving their lives in the process. In this ‘Naya’ Kashmir, neither the army nor the locals are safe,” she asserted.
The PDP President demanded a probe into these deaths and compensation of Rs 50 lakh each to the slain civilians and Rs 5 lakh to the injured in the alleged torture.
She claimed that the impunity enjoyed by the Army after the Amshipora Shopian fake encounter has led to Poonch civilian killings.
In July 2020, Army said three Pakistani militants were killed at Amshipora Shopian and it was later established the three slain men labourers from Rajouri and were killed in a fake encounter.
“Army court ( in the Amshopira case) found them guilty while another court reversed the judgment, creating a false precedent among the forces that they can operate without restraint. Even with the governor’s guarantees, justice has not yet been served .”
“We condemned the soldiers’ killings in the Poonch ambush but who will condemn the civilian killings and the assault?” she asked.
