Srinagar, June 29: The National Conference on Friday welcomed the decision of the Army to try its five officers involved in the Pathribal fake encounter killing of five innocents in south Kashmir’s Islamabad (Anantnag) district in March 2000 in General Court Martial.
 “It’s a welcome step but we demand that the proceedings and results be made transparent so that there is no scope for any allegations or feeling of a cover up,” the NC spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said in a statement. 
 “People may have diverse opinions about the developments, but if they are ready to make sure the proceedings go ahead and guilty are brought to book and punished in a transparent manner, we think it’s a positive development and should be taken positively,” he added.
 “Some people may have brought a bad name but Army is an institution that has brought laurels to the country and as such we expect exemplary punishment to the alleged accused officers without any further delay” said Tanvir.
 Reiterating the demand of the party the spokesman said that it 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.
 “It’s a travesty that 12 years down the line we have not been able to deliver justice but the way SC and now army is approaching the Pathribal case we believe that it provides us opportunity to rebuild trust in justice system and the institutions where the trust has been seriously damaged," Tanvir added.
 Reiterating the stand of the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Tanvir said “Pathribal, Machil are the events that have cast very long shadow that won’t go away if we continue to ignore them or not punish the guilty”. He added that “Time has come to revoke the Act from the peaceful areas of the state,” he said.
  “We’re committed to the revocation of AFSPA from JK. To begin with, the act should be revoked from peaceful areas where militancy has gone,” he added.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST