Alarmed at turn of events, J&K CM calls all-party-meet to discuss Kashmir situation

Srinagar: J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has convened an all-party meeting in Srinagar on Wednesday to deliberate on worsening situation in Kashmir valley in the aftermath of civilian and militant deaths in security forces’ operations.

Official sources said that the chief minister is deeply concerned at the turn of events and discussed the situation threadbare with her partners and other functionaries in the government and senior officers of the police and intelligence agencies. She has separately also closeted with her Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) colleagues to deliberate on the alarming situation emerging in the aftermath of the killing of eight militants and seven civilians in two counterinsurgency operations in Srinagar and southern Shopian and subsequent clashes on May 5 and 6.

“She is also deeply saddened over the death of a tourist from Chennai in a stone-pelting incident,” said an aide of the chief minister.

The sources said that the chief minister has sent invitations to the leaders of all mainstream political parties including National Conference (NC), the Congress, the CPIM and various regional parties and groups besides the PDP and its alliance partner BJP for attending the meeting here on Wednesday. “All the invitees are being contacted also over the phone to ensure their participation,” said an official at the chief minister’s office.

On Tuesday evening, the chief minister called on Governor, NN Vohra, at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar to discuss “various important matters relating to counter-terrorist operations, continuing incidents of stone pelting, the death of a tourist and other concerns”. The two in their 90-minutes-long meeting also discussed the “growing radicalization and its grave impact in the educational sector”, an official spokesman here said. He added that the Governor also spoke to Mufti on certain issues relating to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to all the three regions of the state.

Meanwhile, ‘Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL)’, the alliance of key separatist leaders, has asked people to resume normal activities from Wednesday. Life was brought to a standstill in most parts of Srinagar on Saturday following the killing of three Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militants in an encounter with security forces in City’s Chattabal area. Also, a 17-year-old youth was crushed to death by a J&K police ‘bunker’ vehicle during a stone-pelting incident in nearby Noorbagh areas adding to existing tensions.

While a shutdown was being observed in Kashmir on Sunday against these killing in response to a call issued by JRL, five Hizbul Mujahideen militants and an equal number of civilians died in security forces’ actions in southern Shopian district, triggering a fresh wave of protests and clashes across the Valley.

Following this, the JRL extended the strike for two days. The authorities also closed educational institutions, suspended rail serves and snapped mobile internet services in the Valley “as a precautionary measure” whereas security a lockdown was being enforced in central Srinagar on the third consecutive day on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, a teenager identified as Sufail Ahmed Butt who was among critically injured youth in security forces firing in Shopian on Sunday succumbed in Srinagar’s Sri Maharaj Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, raising the toll among the civilians to 7. As the news about the death of the teenager reached Shopian, people in large numbers came out of their homes and held protests.

While asking people to resume their normal activity, the JRL has urged them particularly government employees, lawyers, teachers, traders and transporters to wear black bands and also put up black flags on their houses, shops and vehicles on May 9 to show anger and resentment against “bloodshed and innocent killings”. It also asked for offering funeral prayers in absentsia for the slain in mosques and other places of Muslim worship after Friday congregational prayers on May 11.