SRINAGAR, August 6: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of Sajad Ahmad Khanday, Sarpanch of Vessu-Qazigund in south Kashmir.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari observed that violence in any of its manifestations is not going to yield anything for the people except for death and destruction. “Today’s cowardly attack on a grassroot level representative has added to the fear psychosis among the Panchayat representatives and other political activists who witnessed three such attacks in the last 10 days,” he said while urging the government to take serious cognizance of this incident.
Bukhari said the elements inimical to peace and prosperity in J&K should not be allowed to go scot free and the administration must identify and nab the culprits behind such attacks and book them under stringent laws.
“We have witnessed enough death and devastation and now this cycle of violence should end somewhere so that people of J&K heave a sigh of relief. We cannot afford the loss of another generation,” he remarked.
The JKAP president said the slain Sarpanch was elected by the people and was working to redress the day-to-day grievances of his electorate. “Killing an unarmed grass root level social activist is a dastardly act which can never be acceptable to any civilized society,” Bukhari said, while expressing solidarity with the bereaved family.
Bukhari also sought a thorough security review for Panchayat representatives and other vulnerable political workers who reside in more violence prone areas in J&K. “The union home ministry should also take a review of the security situation in J&K and take measures to prevent recurrence of such attacks in future,” he added.
