Amid the rise in attacks in Jammu region, former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday demanded immediate sacking of J&K Police’s top cop.
She said it was fortunate that there was no accountability over the killing of soldiers in the Jammu region.
“…There is no accountability. By now the heads should have rolled. The Director General of Police should have been sacked. Almost 50 soldiers have lost their lives in the last 32 months,” Mufti said while addressing a press conference in Srinagar.
There has been a spree of attacks on forces in Jammu in recent past and the latest one came on Monday evening which left four army personnel including an officer dead in Doda district’s Desa forests in Jammu.
Mufti leveled serious charges against the DGP R R Swani saying he was more busy in “fixing things politically”.
“The present DG is more busy with fixing things politically. His job is how to break the people of PDP and how to harass people and journalist… The passports and verifications have been weaponised. They are finding ways to impose UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) on people… We don’t need a fixer here, we need a DGP. We have had DGPs from outside (other states) before and they have worked very well. No one has worked on such lines like things are being done now,” she said, accusing him of “treating Kashmiris as Pakistanis”.
The attack against DGP came a day after DGP Swain blamed regional parties for Pakistan’s ‘successful’ infiltration into the Kashmiri civil society.
Swain on Monday said Pakistan successfully infiltrated all important aspects of civil society, thanks to so-called mainstream or regional politics in the valley.
“There is ample evidence to show that many had mastered the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hound, which left both the common man and the security forces bewildered, frightened, and confused,” he said on Monday.
Mufti hit out at DGP saying it was not her job or Omar Abdullah to stop infiltration.
“While there is infiltration from Pakistan, what is the DGP doing? Is it my job or Omar Abdullah’s job to stop the infiltration? Who is at the borders? Who has to deal with the situation?” she asked.
“Soldiers come to Kashmir for their duty but go back in coffins. Who is responsible for this … They rather blame the mainstream parties,” PDP chief Mufti said.
She accused the DGP of militarising the police force.
“Who has criminalised the thought process of Kashmiris?” Mufti said, adding all Kashmiris, especially the majority community has been alienated by DGP.
Mufti said for the past six years BJP has been ruling J&K and it was a big slap for them when Engineer Rashid won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat.
“ In North Kashmir, people preferred to elect a voice that speaks about self-determination and plebiscite. The nationalist forces were not elected. They want to conceal their shortcomings,” she said.
Mufti appealed to the Home Minister and the Defence Minister to take note of the terror attacks and casualties in Jammu and Kashmir, and fix accountability.
“The maximum casualties have been reported since the present DGP took over,” Mufti claimed.
