KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Expressing concern over the Kishtwar situation, former minister and National Conference MLC Sajjad Kitchloo on Sunday appealed people to maintain peace and calm. Peace, he said, is imperative for the larger interest of the sensitive township.
“Kishtwar has been a shinning symbol of J&K’s pluralistic ethos and any attempt to vitiate the atmosphere will meet resistance of the people irrespective of caste, creed and colour”, Kitchloo said.
He attributed the current unrest across Valley and other parts of the state to wrong-policies of the PDP-BJP dispensation, saying the people were undergoing unprecedented sufferings. “The alienation of the people needs to be taken care of by addressing political issues so that the objective of lasting peace in the region is achieved”, he added.
Besides, the former home minister criticised the spree of raids being conducted in the township resulting in harassment to the people that have aggravated the situation and vitiated the atmosphere.
Two persons were detained from Kishtwar and lodged them in Kotbalwal jail Jammu while police raided house another one but he was not present there. This irked the residents who came out on streets that led to clashes between the cops and protesters. Police have charged eighteen residents, mostly the Imams of the local mosques, for inciting tensions.
Kishtwar is one of the most sensitive towns of the state owing to its demographic composition. It witnessed serious communal crisis in 2013 in which a few persons were killed as well. Kitchloo was personally held responsible by a Commission on Enquiry into the riot-conspiracy case.
