SRINAGAR: Chief minister Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed concern Tuesday over large-scale detentions in J&K after the April 22 Pahalgam attack .
Omar cited reports of detentions from various parts of the Valley and argued that such actions conveyed the message that Kashmiris were being punished. He cautioned against such a perception gaining ground at a time when the people of J&K, especially in Kashmir, had hit the streets for the first time against the attackers.
Former CM Mehbooba referred to her Pahalgam visit Monday and said many locals feared they would be arbitrarily detained by police. “In the aftermath of the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam, the response has included a sweeping clampdown with thousands of civilians reportedly taken into custody,” the PDP president said.
Mehbooba said she had written to lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha urging him to urgently review this approach, which appears to amount to “collective punishment”. Such measures risk deepening the trust deficit at a time when Kashmiris have taken meaningful steps to bridge that very gap, she added.
In her letter, Mehbooba said that she was writing “at a moment when the nation is grieving the tragic and cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam”. “This heinous act has been widely condemned across the country, more so by the people of Kashmir. In fact, we went a step further by observing a complete shutdown and hitting the streets in protest,” Mehbooba wrote.
According to the PDP chief, this “spontaneous response marked a significant and heartening shift -- for the first time, Kashmiris openly defied terrorism and stood united with the nation during this critical time”. “Even in the immediate aftermath of the attack, it was local Kashmiris who rushed to help the injured, transporting them to hospitals and donating blood not as a favour but as a heartfelt duty toward their fellow citizens,” the letter reads.
However, she said “the response from various security agencies appears less like a focused investigation and more like a sweeping and indiscriminate crackdown”. “Over 3,000 arrests and nearly 100 Public Safety Act (PSA) detentions have been reported. Such numbers are alarming and don’t reflect justice but rather a collective form of punishment,” Mehbooba said.
The PDP president warned that such crackdowns risked alienating families and communities, wondering “where all this will lead us to”. “While we are all unequivocally in favour of justice, the actions currently being undertaken amount to mass retribution,” the PDP chief said.
Omar cited reports of detentions from various parts of the Valley and argued that such actions conveyed the message that Kashmiris were being punished. He cautioned against such a perception gaining ground at a time when the people of J&K, especially in Kashmir, had hit the streets for the first time against the attackers.
Former CM Mehbooba referred to her Pahalgam visit Monday and said many locals feared they would be arbitrarily detained by police. “In the aftermath of the heinous terror attack in Pahalgam, the response has included a sweeping clampdown with thousands of civilians reportedly taken into custody,” the PDP president said.
Mehbooba said she had written to lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha urging him to urgently review this approach, which appears to amount to “collective punishment”. Such measures risk deepening the trust deficit at a time when Kashmiris have taken meaningful steps to bridge that very gap, she added.
In her letter, Mehbooba said that she was writing “at a moment when the nation is grieving the tragic and cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam”. “This heinous act has been widely condemned across the country, more so by the people of Kashmir. In fact, we went a step further by observing a complete shutdown and hitting the streets in protest,” Mehbooba wrote.
According to the PDP chief, this “spontaneous response marked a significant and heartening shift -- for the first time, Kashmiris openly defied terrorism and stood united with the nation during this critical time”. “Even in the immediate aftermath of the attack, it was local Kashmiris who rushed to help the injured, transporting them to hospitals and donating blood not as a favour but as a heartfelt duty toward their fellow citizens,” the letter reads.
However, she said “the response from various security agencies appears less like a focused investigation and more like a sweeping and indiscriminate crackdown”. “Over 3,000 arrests and nearly 100 Public Safety Act (PSA) detentions have been reported. Such numbers are alarming and don’t reflect justice but rather a collective form of punishment,” Mehbooba said.
The PDP president warned that such crackdowns risked alienating families and communities, wondering “where all this will lead us to”. “While we are all unequivocally in favour of justice, the actions currently being undertaken amount to mass retribution,” the PDP chief said.
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