Srinagar, July 29: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the government was committed to the cause of secularism and brotherhood which was the essence of the ethos of Kashmir.
 Talking to a delegation of the Sikh community, Omar assured them that their security and welfare would be ensured by government and the elements, which had a nefarious design to disturb the traditional communal harmony of the state, would be dealt sternly.
 Omar said majority community in Kashmir had always respected the sentiments of the Sikh community and continue to do so even today. He condemned the Tral incident and assured that the government would take steps to safeguard the religious sentiments of the Sikhs.
 The delegation informed the Chief Minister about certain issues pertaining to their community to which Omar assured that the issues would be addressed.
 The delegation included S K N Singh, President Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, S Manjeet Singh, General Secretary, S. Gurmeet Singh, Secretary and S Mahinder Singh, senior citizen.
 Meanwhile, State Secretary CPI (M), Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, has also condemned the incident.
 In a statement, Tarigami said all communities had strong traditions of harmony and brotherhood, and such incidents only help divisive elements with vested interest to vitiate the communal harmony.
 Dal Khalsa a Punjab based political party of the Sikhs, also took exception over the incident.
 In a statement from Amritsar, party head H S Dhami strongly protested against the act.
 A delegation of All J&K Sikh Coordination Committee led by Jagmohan Singh Raina and J S Azad met Hurriyat (M) leaders including Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Shahid-ul-Islam and others at party headquarters at Raj Bagh.
 A party spokesman said Hurriyat Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq couldn’t attend the meeting since he was under house arrest. They meeting termed the act against Sikh youth as “the handiwork of vested interests and against the communal harmony in Kashmir.”
 “This is an attempt of sabotage aimed against the ongoing movement,” they observed.
 Meanwhile, a delegation of Sikhs led by Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee, Srinagar president, K N Singh met president Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadith, Showkat Shah and expressed anguish and concern over the Tral incident.
 The delegation expressed apprehension that if corrective measures weren’t taken, the event could flare-up a communal tension.
 JAH president said that such an act was unwarranted and highly condemnable. He urged people to stay calm and maintain communal harmony.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST