Facing continued public unrest for the 20th day on Thursday, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said she would have given Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani “a chance had she known he was trapped in the encounter”.
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He said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is keen that the relief in terms of extension of the tax-filing window must be provided to the trade and business community.
Ms. Mufti who was speaking to reporters after addressing a rally of her Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) here said that she was not aware of the operation carried out jointly by J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and Army’s 19 Rashtriya Rifles at Bamdoora Kokernag.
“How do we know about an encounter?”
“The Army and police officials told me that they just had information that three militants were hiding inside that house”.
“I believe that had they known he was there, Wani would have been given one chance as the situation was fast improving in the state. (Former CM) Omar Abdullah had enough time to prepare security measures when parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi in February 2013”, Mehbooba said.
She said the present government didn’t get the time to prepare security measures unlike the previous government which handled the aftermath of hanging of Afzal Guru without much damage. So he made all the arrangements in advance.
“We knew nothing and we came to know about it suddenly. But despite that, we tried to impose curfew so that children do not come out”.
“She released lakhs of rupees as reward money from the CM’s secret fund for those who took part in the encounter”, claimed National Conference Provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani.
Muzaffar Beigh, a senior leader and MP from her party, which co-governs Kashmir with the BJP, has alleged that in Wani’s shooting, ecurity forces violated the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for any counter-terror operation.
While mobile service has been partially restored, the Internet services, barring BSNLs broadband, continues to remain suspended. “Although most of the political pundits, at that time, viewed and dismissed the PDP’s enterprise and act of hope with skepticism and ridicule, but the party discerned the imperatives of the history and stood like a rock against the winds and waves of various hostile forces”, she said and added that responding to the people’s innermost yearning for peace with dignity, PDP crusaded the policy of repairing their hurt psyche, salvaging their bruised dignity, kindling a new hope in their hearts and motivating them to mould their destiny through a participatory political process. At least 5,500 people, including 3,000 security personnel, have also been injured.
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The curfew is likely to be reimposed across the Kashmir Valley on Friday as separatists have urged people to reach Jamia Masjid in Srinagar’s volatile Downtown area for midday congregational prayers.
