Islamabad (Anantnag), Jan 28: Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and President National Conference (NC), Dr Farooq Abdullah, today said that he was satisfied with the proceedings in the Supreme Court with regard to the Pathribal encounter case and the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Speaking with the media persons after paying condolence to the family of veteran NC leader Ghulam Rasool Kochak who passed away recently here, Farooq said, “I am quite satisfied the way Supreme Court is proceeding into the Pathribal case and I hope it will come to a conclusion soon.”
He appealed to the families of the victims to keep patience and assured them that the perpetrators will be brought to justice as per the Constitution.
Last week Farooq said the Pathribal incident was a “fake encounter” and all those responsible for it should be “chargesheeted” for killing innocent people. “Yes, it was a fake encounter. All those who are responsible for having killed innocent people must be chargesheeted whether they are in the Army or they are civilians. You can't kill innocent people and say that I have got a safety certificate,” Farooq Abdullah had told reporters in Delhi.
He was asked if the Army should allow the prosecution of its officers in the wake of the Supreme Court observations.
“Whether you are the highest or the lowest, you have to pay price for your actions,” he said. Pertinently, Dr Abdullah was the Chief Minister of the State when the fake encounter took place.
Regarding the revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the State, Farooq said that the withdrawal of the law is a top priority for Chief Minister.
Asking the Government of India to give a ‘serious look’ to the recent rap on Army by the Supreme Court, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said the Pathribal fake encounter case has brought back Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) into focus.
“This again calls into question the entire debate of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the way in which it is implemented or the way it is used,” Omar had told a Delhi-based news channel, adding, "One of the travesties of our justice system is that 12 years down the line we have not been able to deliver justice."
Omar made these remarks a day after the Supreme Court admonished the Army to not "play with the courts" and stop taking recourse to the AFSPA to stall the prosecution in the Pathribal fake encounter case.
Five people were gunned down allegedly by the Army personnel on March 25, 2000, at Pathribal in south Kashmir. They were branded as Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) militants responsible for the killing of 36 Sikhs at Chattisinghpora in the same district on the intervening night of March 19-20, 2000.
Today Dr Farooq said, “The way people outside Jammu and Kashmir are mobilizing for revocation of AFSPA, it will not be long before the Act is revoked.”
Expressing satisfaction over the three years of the coalition Government, Farooq said, “Till now the coalition Government has been functioning quite smoothly and I am quite optimistic that it will continue to do so for the next three years.”
He said that the overall development and generation of employment opportunities is among the top priorities of the coalition Government.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST