Sagar, Sakeena, Akhoon stay away from wreath-laying ceremony

CM’s colleagues don’t have a word of sympathy for slain cops or bereaved families

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 26: Dying for the Azadi-lover Maulana Shaukat Shah and whosoever seeks Kashmir’s separation from India, Valley’s so-called mainstream politicians have been jostling to take lead in issuing condolences and calling on the bereaved families. However, when the wreath-laying ceremony of two slain constables of Jammu & Kashmir took place at Police Control Room today, everybody made it a point to remain absent. Those who were present in town but ‘boycotted’ the solemn event, include three senior National Conference (NC) leaders and Cabinet Ministers in Omar Abdullah government--- Ali Mohammad Sagar, Sakeena Itoo and Qamar Ali Akhoon.

Head constable Abdul Khaliq of Ajas, Bandipore, and constable Farooq Ahmed of Pulwama had been gunned down by militants late last night when they were on duty at Nowgam Chowk to protect VIPs like Sagar, Sakeena and Akhoon from a guerrilla strike. Their colleague in the naka party, SPO Ghulam Mohiuddin sustained critical injuries in the firing.

Through the messages radioed on the state telecommunication networks and short messages carried through the cellphone grid, Police had informed all and sundry about the wreath-laying ceremony. When a guard of honour was sounded in the morning at PCR grounds, not one of the Police-protected politicians was in attendance. A large number of legislators, besides three Cabinet Ministers, were present in town. None of them turned up at the solemn occasion. Three of the MLAs, namely Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami (CPM), Syed Bashir Ahmed (PDP) and Waqar Rasool Wani (Congress) stuck to their schedule of returning to Jammu by air but none among them too turned an eye towards the blood spilt on the highway.

While the familiar face on such occasions, Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Meraj Ahmed Kakroo, was in Jammu, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, IGP Kashmir, Shiv Murari Sahai, DIG Central Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir, DIG CRPF, P K Singh, besides five Commanding Officers of CRPF, SSP Srinagar Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, all seven of zonal SPs in Srinagar, all Dy SPs and all SHOs posted in the capital city paid floral tributes to the slain constables.

More than four Police and CRPF personnel have laid their lives while guarding two of the three Cabinet Ministers in the last over a decade. Members of the bereaved families confirmed to Early Times that not a single of the so-called mainstream politicians and Police-protected VIPs offered even a lip service of sympathy, let alone visiting them in North and South Kashmir. They expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who had singularly condemned the militant strike and conveyed his sympathies and condolences.

Highly placed authoritative sources described the absence of the three Cabinet Ministers and a number of legislators as “unfortunate” and revealed that Chief Minister had directed his junior ministerial colleague, Nasir Aslam Wani, immediately after he was allocated the portfolio of Home department, to pay a visit to both the bereaved families on Wednesday. He is likely to be accompanied by Advisor to Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul, and some other NC leaders. However, this will be no match to the beeline of government officials and so-called mainstream politicians---NC, Congress, PDP, BJP---who burnt fuel worth Lakhs of Rupees of the state exchequer to mark their attendance at the residence of Police-protected separatist politician Maulana Shaukat Shah, who was eliminated here in a bomb blast on April 8^th.

Paradoxically, senior NC leader and Lok Sabha member from North Kashmir, Sharief-ud-din Shariq, was the only politician in Jammu and Kashmir who had described the Qamarwari shootout of November 29, 2010, as a “fake encounter” and held Police guilty of killing “three innocent youth in custody”. Shariq and his colleagues in the “Indian Parliament” were thankfully silent today. Last incident of a fatal guerrilla strike on Police had occurred at Qamarwari, in Srinagar outskirts, on November 29^th when militants gunned down two constables. In quick retaliation, Police had shot dead all three of the pistol-wielding militants on the spot. One of the three happened to be a close relative of the NC’s MP Mr Shariq.

In July 2010, sons of a senior NC leader’s and Cabinet Minister’s close associates participated in a pro-freedom demonstration while clashing with Police and beating a constable ruthlessly on the highway near Narbal. Chief Minister as well as his Principal Secretary Home, B R Sharma, are currently under tremendous pressure to revoke PSA detention orders of six of these assailants and set them free. Police have arrested all 39 persons, including six PSA detainees, who are facing charges of launching a murderous attack on the government official.

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