KASHMIR NEWS OBSERVER
Terming the recent killings and arrest spree of youth and political leaders as atrocious and undemocratic National Conference patron Dr Farooq Abdullah Wednesday said such repressive methods only deepen the existing level of alienation among the people.
Dr Farooq Abdullah who visited many areas of Srinagar city including Hazratbal, Lalbazar, Alamgari Bazar, Zadibal, Hawal, Karan Nagar and Budshah Chowk said that from past 65 years Kashmir’s have only been witnessing suppression and oppression and no efforts are being made to allay their sufferings.
While interacting with people at Armpora Nawakadal and Hazratbal, Farooq Abdullah according to news agency CNS said the the ruling PDP-BJP government can’t silence the genuine voices of people, who are fighting for justice and democratic rights, by such barbaric methods. He said instead of providing a genuine democratic space to the young people, political opponents and relating with them, the government is resorting to crackdown to stifle the voice of dissent.
He said instead of real ‘hand holding of the youth’, the government is handcuffing and subjecting them to humiliation and inhuman treatment inside the police lockups thus making their lives miserable. “By lodging FIRs against thousands of youth from past couple of months, the government has played a damaging role in destroying their careers,” said Abdullah adding that youth were blinded by pellets and even elderly people were not spared. He said that actions of the government have brutally affected the conscience of everyone and the present government can’t absolve itself of the crimes and the war it let loose on the people.
Dr Farooq Abdullah said that the callous attitude of the government has added to the woes of people. “The government has given us pellets, bullets, restrictions on prayers, power cuts, dilapidated roads, unemployment, suppression, oppression and even it has shielded those responsible for grave crimes,” he said.
He said it is the beauty of democratic system to tolerate the voices of dissent but in Jammu and Kashmir it is unfortunately opposite as the ruling PDP has always been on the forefront to thwart any move which it seems is challenging to its very existence.
He said in normal discourse an idea should have been answered by an idea but here it is the repressive methods like PSA, Chili Grenades, Pepper Guns etc. doing the talking which have pushed the young population to the wall. “Fact of the matter is that the Chief Minister has presided over a system, which is totally anti-youth,” he said and added that Kashmir has been turned into a virtual prison, where normal activities are being curbed in the name of ‘security’ and the ruling dispensation tries to sell it as a ‘peace’ thus brags about being the saviors of the nation.