Srinagar: Militants on Tuesday shot dead a BJP worker in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, taking the number of party activists killed in the last two years to 23.
BJP”s J&K spokesman Altaf Thakur said nine of these 23 BJP activists were killed in Kulgam district alone in the past one year. According to officials, the assailants fired upon Javeed Ahmad Dar near his residence at Brazloo Jageer area of the south Kashmir district at around 4.30 pm on Tuesday. Dar, who was BJP”s constituency president of Homeshalibugh assembly constituency, died on the spot, they said. Thakur condemned the killing and called it a cowardly and barbaric act.
“The militants are feeling frustrated and targeting innocents. Killing unarmed people won”t lead to anything. It is cowardly and a barbaric act,” he said, appealing to police to arrest the killers and punish them sternly. Thakur said in the last two years, 23 BJP leaders/activists have been killed in Jammu & Kashmir.
“In the past one year, nine deaths of BJP leaders/workers were reported in Kulgam district alone. A matter of serious concern,” he said. The BJP spokesperson said it was high time for police nab the culprits and provide safe and secure accommodation to BJP workers and activists in south Kashmir. “Measures need to be taken to prevent attacks on BJP leaders,” he said.
The attack also evoked condemnations from various other political parties. National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah denounced the killing of Dar. “Terrible news from Kulgam. Javved Ahmed was gunned down in cold blood. I unreservedly condemn this terror attack and send my heartfelt condolences to Javved”s family and colleagues. May Allah grant him place in Jannat,” he wrote on Twitter. The NC said such dastardly acts are a hindrance to peace in Kashmir. “JKNC unequivocally condemns the assassination of BJP leader Javved Ahmad in Kulgam. This is an act of cowardice and such dastardly acts are a hindrance to peace in Kashmir. Our deepest condolences to bereaved family in this time of grief,” the party said on Twitter.
Condemning the killing, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said there is no place for such acts of violence. “Condemn the killing of BJP leader Javaid Dar and there is no place for such acts of violence. Sympathies and condolences to his family,” she said.
Reacting to the killing of BJP leader the J&K Apni Party Provincial President Mohammad Ashraf Mir termed the incident as highly reprehensible and demanded an immediate investigation so that the perpetrators of this heinous act should be brought to justice. “Apni Party strongly condemns this ghastly incident which resulted in the death of BJP worker Javid Ahmad Dar in cold blood. Such acts of violence will achieve nothing except for more miseries to the common people,” Mir observed. He further said that there exists no validation to kill an innocent and violence in all its manifestation has no place in any civilized society across the world. “The political activists across Kashmir are trying hard to strengthen the democratic foundations while unswervingly continuing to contribute to the ongoing peace process. However, to achieve this goal their security must never be compromised,” Mir said, while demanding immediate review of security cover of all political activists including those whose security cover has been withdrawn recently. Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family, Mir prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and forbearance for his family members to bear this irreparable loss.“Apni Party expresses deepest condolences to the bereaved family and expresses solidarity with them at this time of grief,” he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) led by Sajad Lone said it was a senseless and unjustifiable act of violence. “We condemn the killing of BJP worker Javaid Ahmad Dar in strongest terms and without reservation. This is a senseless and an unjustifiable act of violence. We express our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family in this hour of grief,” the JKPC said in a tweet. CPI(M) leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami also condemned the killing and said violence in any form is condemnable. Terming the incident as unfortunate, he said there is no justification to kill any unarmed person.
Condemning killing of Javed Ahmad by unknown gunmen in Kulgam , the Peoples Democratic Front Chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen said that killing of innocent and unarmed human beings was against the tenants of all religion . He said unabated killings of civilians and soft targets by the unknown gunmen was only adding to the miseries and bloodshed in kashmir. He said violence was no solution to any problem adding that past four decades of violence and lawlessness in Kashmir has yielded nothing except expanding limits of graveyards and the multiplying the number of orphans, widows and destitutes besides devastating the very foundation of States economy . He said killings of innocent and unarmed people have no place in a civilized society.
