Terrorists Who Killed Innocents At Pahalgam Came From Pakistan; Govt Must Give Strong Reply: Asad Owaisi
AIMIM chief calls Pahalgam attack barbaric and demands investigation into the death of a Kulgam man allegedly detained by security forces.
Owaisi who was speaking to reporters here said, “It was a terrorist attack, a cowardly act”, reasserting his strong condemnation of it. He said, “We saw how the terrorists who had come from Pakistan took the lives of 26 people and the most painful and inhumane thing is that the males were separated from women and children and asked about their religion. Those who couldn’t recite the Kalma were fired upon. This is darndgi (ferocity). Evidently this is an aching and heartbreaking incident. We have condemned it, and we condemn it”.
He asserted that the Kashmiris are bearing the brunt of the attack as the tourism sector has taken a hit. “Secondly, the people of Kashmir are suffering the most because of this incident. The tourists have left this place. We want our government to give a strong reply to it (Pahalgam carnage). We said this also at the all-parties meeting,” he said.
Replying to a question about India’s stopping the waterflow from the Chenab River to Pakistan through the Baglihar and Salal dams in Jammu and Kashmir, Owaisi said, “(It is because) the Indus-Water Treaty has been put at abeyance. The matter is also before the court of arbitration. Let’s see what happens.”
Asked about the death of a Kashmiri youth after he was picked up by the security forces for questioning in connection with reported existence of militant hideouts in the southern district of Kulgam, the AIMIM leader and Lok Sabha MP sought an inquiry into the incident. “I have read the statements of his relatives in the media. An inquiry should be held into the circumstances of his death,” he said.
The death of a 23-year-old Imiyaz Ahmed Magray had sparked protests and a call for an impartial probe by political parties. However, the police had on Sunday claimed that the deceased, a labourer by profession, committed suicide by jumping into the gushing Vishaw Nallah while guiding the security forces to a second hideout located near the rivulet banks. They also said that he was an Over Ground Worker (OWG) of the separatist militants and had confessed knowledge of two Pakistani terrorists and their hideout during the interrogation.