The selective targeting of the workforce from outside Kashmir valley is a clear signal to those camping in the valley to run away in order to save their lives.
At a time when senior officers of the Jammu and Kashmir administration were hosting a delegation of 23 MP’s of European Union in Srinagar, heavily armed terrorists shot dead at least five labourers hailing from Murshidabad in West Bengal in Katrasoo area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district late Tuesday evening.
The gruesome killings were carried out by the terrorists in South Kashmir district of Kulgam after eliminating four truck drivers, one apple trader and another brick kiln worker in Shopian, Sopore and Pulwama districts since October 14 this year.
The selective targeting of the workforce from outside Kashmir valley is a clear signal to those camping in the valley to run away in order to save their lives.
The Opposition, meanwhile, continued to target the central government over the issue of the backing visit of EU delegation to Kashmir valley.
At the same time, these repeated strikes on truckers and now labourers have also exposed the tall claims made by the senior officials to ensure the safety of labourers in Kashmir valley.
Official sources said these labourers were working as construction workers and staying with a local resident in the area when they were targeted in Kulgam.
According to police, “the five labourers killed in Katrasoo area of Kulgam have been identified as Mursaleem Sheikh, Qamar Din, Mohd Rafiq Sheikh, Nazim Ud Din Sheikh and Rafiq-ul Shiekh R/O, Murshidabad district, West Bengal”.
EU delegation in Kashmir to assess the ground situation
A 23 member delegation of Member Parliamentarians of the European Union arrived in Srinagar on a two-day-long visit for a first-hand assessment of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of the State’s special status under Article 370.
As the members of the delegation started exploring the beauty of Kashmir during their visit to the famed Dal Lake for a boat ride, the role of a Brussels-based woman lobbyist, who is said to have organized the tour, surfaced in public domain much to the chagrin of ruling party in New Delhi.
Reports said Madi Sharma, an Indian origin businesswoman, was behind the tour and it was her email to British Conservative party MP Chris Davies that led to the revelation.
Sharma in her communication to Davies had offered “prestigious VIP meeting” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a visit to Kashmir.
But Davies’ conditions to meet the local people and Indian press led to his exit from the list of MPs selected by Sharma’s lobbying firm WESTT (Women Empowerment Think Tank), which works in association with Delhi-based Women Economic Forum.
Army officer briefs EU delegation
To give the visiting delegation a first-hand account of the prevailing security situation, General Officer in Command of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps headquarters, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, briefed the members. According to official sources, “The delegation was also briefed about the role of Pakistan in fuelling terrorism in the Kashmir Valley and the role of the Pakistani army in pushing terrorists into India”.
Unhappy Congress hits back at the BJP
The Opposition, meanwhile, continued to target the central government over the issue of the backing visit of EU delegation to Kashmir valley. In New Delhi, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said he does not have any objection to the European Union leaders’ delegation visiting Jammu and Kashmir. “What I object to, is that the MPs of this country are not being allowed to go to Jammu and Kashmir.”
Hitting out at the Union government, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: “Allowing European MPs to travel and intervene in Kashmir while returning Indian MPs and leaders from the airport itself. Such unique nationalism it is.”
Terming the visit of European Union MPs to Jammu and Kashmir as a “PR exercise“, the National Conference also said such “stunts” are not the answer to the situation in the region.
“The visit of the selected EU MPs, largely of a particular ideology, is clearly a PR exercise. It is ironical that European MPs are visiting the Valley when the state’s leaders including three former Chief Ministers, are incarcerated for nearly three months now, and hundreds of others are in jails across the country,” the NC said in a statement.
The party said the Centre should take “concrete steps” to resolve the issue in the state. “What the people of Kashmir think of the MPs’ visit is very clear from an intensified shutdown in the Valley today,” it said.
Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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Hats off to Madi Sharma for acting as a good will ambassador to India. If Indian diaspora are united, no islamist or left lobby can malign India using MSM. The comments by some indian politicians on EU MPs visit is highly deplorable. When govnt is doing its BEST to integrate India, these ungrateful politicians are siding with breaking india forces whose comments are quoted in international MSM.
If these rejected politicians are so concerned about Kashmir, why cant they visit Kashmir on their own as individuals ,instead of trying to visit like pack of wolves ? As they are concerned about human rights, it is time govnt should send delegation of MPs from Congress, BSP, Shivsena, CPIM and DMK to Pak occupied kashmir, Pakistan ( meeting with Hafeez Sayeed ), Afghanistan (Meet taliban ), Balochistan to understand the definition of human rights. Let NDTV and THE HINDU send reporters with the delegation to report how peaceful these regions are compared to their motherland.