Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti lays a wreath on the coffin of police officer Ayub Pandith during a ceremony in Srinagar on Friday
Hurriyat chairman's Z-security has been under question since cop guarding him was lynched to death
Pressure is mounting on Mehbooba Mufti-led government to give free hand to Jammu and Kashmir police and withdraw security of moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq following the lynching of deputy superintendent of police Mohammed Ayub Pandith outside Jamia Masjid.
"Jammu and Kashmir Police is one of the best police force in the country. They are very brave. They are showing restraint while dealing with the people. The day they will lose their patience it will become very difficult. They are showing maximum restraint because they are dealing with their own people. But how long will it continue?" said Mufti.
The Chief Minister further said that few days ago, the SHO and five other policemen were killed and now the deputy superintendent of police, the ones who were present there to protect the people were lynched.
"He had gone to perform his duty. It is shameful act. God forbid if their patience wears out, those days will return when people will be running away after seeing a gypsy moving on the road. I want to say to the people that we still have time to mend our way," she said.
Mufti's remarks came against the backdrop of mounting anger and growing clamour in the police department for giving free hand to the force to deal with the militants, stone pelters and anti national elements in Kashmir.
"We are asked to exercise restraint in a situation where on one side there is a militant and on the other there is stone pelter. Our political bosses are always concerned about the situation, caring little about our safety," said a police officer.
Meanwhile PDP's alliance partner BJP also condemned that the lynching of the DSP Mohammed Ayub Pandith and said that it is heart rending as he was killed by the same people who he was trying to protect,.
"Henchmen of some people derive sadistic pleasure by lynching and killing others just to appease their bosses sitting across the Line of Control (LoC). The government should reconsider the decision of providing Z-security to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, whom the slain DSP was guarding", said Khalid Jehangir, BJP spokesman.
"His death is a tragedy and the manner of his death a travesty. May the people who lynched DSP Pandith burn in hell for their sins", tweeted Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister..
National Conference spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu went a step further and demanded withdrawing the security of Mirwaiz. "I say this strictly in my personal capacity and J&K police should immediately withdraw the Z security cover for Mirwaiz", he said.
Prominent Shia leader and Jammu and Kashmir Sports Minister Imran Reza Ansari wondered how Mirwaiz could preach on the pulpit when a human is lynched.
"How can one preach on the pulpit while a fellow human is lynched to death in the compound of the same mosque. I wonder what was being preached", he said.
Meanwhile, police is not ruling out questioning Mirwaiz in the lynching case of DSP Mohammed Ayub Pandith.
Suffering continues
Under fire for failing to control the situation, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday called for the institutionalized dialogue process to get out of the difficulties and bloodshed.
"People of Jammu and Kashmir have been the worst sufferers of hostility between the two countries and despite four wars contentious issues could not be resolved. Majority of people in the Sub continent want peace and resolution of issues between India and Pakistan and any step in this direction would be a contribution towards this silent majority", Mehbooba said.Pitching for state specific Confidence Building Measures to restore the faith of people, she said time has come to open historic routes across LoC to boost cross border travel and trade. "We should move ahead and take benefit of even the opportunities emerging in our neighbourhood also", she said while suggesting partnership with the upcoming CPEC to exploit the State of its strategic position vis a vis South and Central Asia. Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the will and determination, Mehbooba said the present government at the Centre has a decisive mandate to take any bold decision. "Stitching the Alliance (with BJP) was a difficult decision but it was done to get the State out of its present difficulties and problems. It's an experiment of different nature. Failure on this count would have far reaching consequences at the national level", she said. Mehbooba regretted that the dialogue and reconciliation in the State lost its momentum after 2005 after late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed demitted office of the Chief Minister. "The present crisis is the result of the same adding the spirit of wide ranging public outreach as adopted by the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee needs to be restored and carried forward", she said
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