Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed for calm while expressing “profound” grief and agony over the deaths during the protests and asked security forces to avoid use of disproportionate force for crowd control. Mehbooba, while appealing for calm, said “violence only brings miseries to the people and tragedies for the victim families”.
She asked people, especially the youth “not to fall prey to the machinations of the vested interests, who play politics over the dead bodies of Kashmiris.”
In a statement, the Chief Minister said, “I express profound grief over the tragic death of the youths and extend my heart-felt condolences to the bereaved family members in their hour of immense grief.”
Mehbooba said disproportionate use of force for crowd control results in loss of precious lives and grave injuries which should be avoided at all costs.
She asked the police and the paramilitary forces to use Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) while dealing with protesters to avoid loss of precious human lives or injuries.
She also prayed for early recovery of the injured including civilians and the police personnel and asked health authorities to provide best possible treatment to them.