The scholar-turned-militant Manan Wani was a “victim of relentless violence” in Kashmir, the former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Monday, drawing sharp reaction from the former chief minister Omar Abdullah who alleged that Mehbooba’s government made “every effort to trap and kill MananWani, and her crocodile tears won’t work any longer.”
“Pushing youth to the wall will be counterproductive. Centre must intervene in withdrawing cases against students & AMU authorities must revoke their suspension,” Mehbooba, the Peoples Democratic Party president, posted on Twitter, two days after two Kashmiri students at the AMU were suspended and booked under sedition charges for allegedly planning a funeral prayer meet for Manan.
The state governments outside Jammu and Kashmir should be “sensitive” to the situation and “prevent further alienation”, Mehbooba said.
“It will be a travesty to punish them (students) for remembering their former colleague (Wani) who was a victim of relentless violence in Kashmir,” she said in another tweet.
In reference to Mehbooba’s remarks, Omar took to twitter and wrote: “How short Ms Mufti’s memory is! She forgets that she was the architect & beneficiary (it kept her allies in good humour) for her entire period in office. She is in no position to criticise anyone for ‘relentless violence’.”
Omar further wrote: “Ms Mufti’s Govt made every effort to trap & kill MananWani coming close a few times. Her fake sympathy & crocodile tears for dead Kashmiri militants worked for a few years, they won’t work again.”
“She headed the Unified Command which directed the security forces to execute ‘Operation All-out’ & she famously justified the killing of young protestors in 2016 saying ‘they aren’t coming out to buy milk or toffees’.”
INTIMIDATION OF KASHMIRI STUDENTS MUST END: NC
Meanwhile, National Conference Monday said it was concerned over harassment of innocent Kashmir students studying at the Aligarh Muslim University and educational institutions in Punjab and other states.
In a statement, NC’s general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar sought strict action against those found involved in intimidating innocent students from Jammu and Kashmir. “Harassment and intimidation of Kashmiri students will not only affect their studies but will inevitably make them susceptible to violent attacks across the country,” he said.
Sagar said that hundreds of J&K students are studying in various universities across India to secure their future.
“Such unfortunate incidents where students are being harassed on one pretext or the other are happening at a time when the governor’s administration is making tall claims about the propensity to engage with the youth of Kashmir,” he said.
Sagar urged the governor’s administration to make safety and security of students of Jammu and Kashmir studying in various universities across India “a top priority.”
He also urged the governor to take up the matter with the state governments where students from J&K are being targeted and harassed.
HARASSMENT OF KASHMIRI STUDENTS UNACCEPTABLE: TARIGAMI
The harassment of Kashmiri students at AMU and in different colleges and educational institutions in Punjab “at the behest of communal forces” is unacceptable and must be condemned in strongest words as such incidents have serious implications, CPI(M) leader Muhammad YousufTarigami said on Monday.
In a statement, he said that a “hate campaign” has been unleashed on Kashmiri students outside Jammu and Kashmir and “it has the patronage of communal forces in the country.”
The already-prevailing uncertain situation in Kashmir gets compounded by such incidents, Tarigami said, adding: “AMU incident is not an isolated one against Kashmiris as in the past, similar incidents have happened in various other states. It is actually a hate campaign which has been unleashed on Kashmiris and has patronage of ruling party in the country.”
“The BJP government at the Centre needs to initiate criminal proceedings against people found guilty of harassing Kashmiri students. Failure to do so will swell anger and further alienate the general masses,” he said.