Tral, Nov 21: Member of Parliament Aga Ruhullah Mehdi on Friday said that Kashmiris are being persecuted for violence of which they themselves are the victims.
“Kashmiris are the biggest victims of violence, and you cannot target them for a mistake they never committed. But as has been seen in the past, whenever such incidents happen, every Kashmiri Muslim is viewed with suspicion and targeted,” Ruhullah told media persons in Hari-Tral, where he had gone to offer condolences to the family of crime photographer Javaid Ahmad Rather, who died in the Nowgam incident.
Nine people were killed in the blast in Nowgam, and a Kashmiri man also lost his life in Delhi, he said.
“Similarly, violence hits non-Kashmiris as well. So you cannot wage war against victims of violence instead of bringing the perpetrators to book. This only emboldens the perpetrators instead of weakening them,” he said.
Standing at the condolence site, Ruhullah said the photographer was “a Kashmiri who became a victim of violence,” adding that an entire community cannot be persecuted for the inhuman acts of a few.
“Out of 1 crore Muslims living in Jammu and Kashmir, only 0.001 percent may be involved in such acts. You cannot persecute the remaining 99.999 percent peace-loving people,” he said.
He added that while most people outside the region do not fall for what he called BJP propaganda, “there is certainly a fringe that gets a chance to target Kashmiris and Muslims living outside.”
Ruhullah also called for a probe into the blast at the Nowgam police station, which killed nine people.
“The way the incident unfolded suggests it was handled in an unprofessional manner. The explosives were kept improperly, and even those with no expertise like a tailor and the tehsildar, were brought there. The incident should be probed so that anyone responsible for lapses is held accountable. And if it is something other than a mere accident, that should be investigated too,” he said.
He added that compensation should be provided to the families of the deceased and jobs offered to their next of kin, many of whom were sole breadwinners.
