Security agencies' response to Pahalgam more like a sweeping crackdown: Mehbooba in letter to L-G

Srinagar: PDP supremo Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday wrote to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and said security agencies' response to the Pahalgam attack appeared to be a "sweeping and indiscriminate crackdown", pointing to hundreds being detained or booked under the stringent Public Safety Act. With the Amarnath Yatra approaching, Mehbooba also sought Sinha's intervention in putting an end to the policy of arrests and punitive measures and ensure the release of innocents. "The response from various security agencies that has followed appears less like a focused investigation and more like a sweeping and indiscriminate crackdown. Over 3,000 arrests and nearly 100 Public Safety Act (PSA) detentions have been reported," Mehbooba said in the letter. The former chief minister of the erstwhile state said such numbers were alarming and did not reflect justice but rather a collective form of punishment. "This approach not only risks alienating families and communities but also begs the question: where will all this lead us to? While we are all unequivocally in favour of justice, the actions currently being undertaken amount to mass retribution," Mehbooba said. "No democratic and responsible society can or should accept such treatment of its own people. I have long maintained that the people of Kashmir have extended a hand of goodwill," she added.

It is now for the rest of the nation to respond in kind, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supremo asserted. "It is deeply disheartening that the actions of a few terrorists are now determining how security agencies respond to the situation and go on a spree of arrests of innocent civilians," she said. The nation is grieving the tragic and cowardly terror attack in Pahalgam and this heinous act has been widely condemned across the country, more so by the people of Kashmir, Mehbooba said. "In fact, we went a step further by observing a complete shutdown and hitting the streets in protest. This spontaneous response marked a significant and heartening shift -- for the first time, Kashmiris openly defied terrorism and stood united with the nation during this critical time," she said. With the Amarnath Yatra approaching, Mehbooba requested the lieutenant governor to intervene and put an end to this policy of arrests and punitive measures and ensure the release of innocents. "Let the people of Kashmir breathe easy and prepare to welcome the 'yatris' with the warmth and hospitality they are well recognised for," she added