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Suhail A Shah
Anantnag, September 22
Posters raising questions on the killings of policemen by militants appeared at many places in Pulwama district on Saturday, a day after three cops were abducted and killed in the neighboring Shopian district.
A nearly one-minute audio clip was also circulated on social media, which questioned the militants for asking special police officers (SPOs) to resign.
The posters, issued by little known ‘Pulwama and Shopian Tigers’, also question why family members of militants working with the police and other government departments are not being targeted.
The posters, printed in Urdu and dated September 21, were pasted at many places in the main Pulwama town and its peripheries.
“It is with a heavy heart we have to say that some of our militant brothers have taken a wrong step in the name of ‘jihad’ by targeting policemen and their families,” the posters read.
Militants have issued diktats, asking policemen, particularly the SPOs, to resign from their duties immediately. Following the diktat, many SPOs across south Kashmir have announced their resignation through videos and pictures on social networking sites. Through the posters, the group says that policemen trying to earn their livelihood are labelled as traitors, but the real traitors are their (militants’) own relatives.
“Is Zeenat-ul-Islam’s brother not a policeman? Doesn’t Saifullah’s brother work with the Air Force? Is Adil Ahmad Bhat’s father not a cop?” the poster raises questions, further asking why the relatives of the militants haven’t left their jobs.
The posters also ask if the ‘Jihad’ is to be imposed only on the poor.
“Riyaz Naikoo’s father was arrested and he gave an ultimatum of four days for his release. What about hundreds of people who have been languishing in jails for years? Why no word is being uttered about them?” it reads.
The poster requests people to think over the “points raised” and ask militants to stop such acts. “Or we will be forced to rise against you,” reads the poster. The resignation of SPOs, meanwhile, continued in different parts of south Kashmir throughout the day on Saturday.
Gunfight in Tangdhar, combing ops on
Srinagar: A massive combing operation is underway along the Line of Control in the Tanghdar sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said. The searches started after a brief exchange of gunfire between militants and the Army near Pathri Behak at Tangdhar Sector l. A police officer said a group of suspected infiltrators was spotted near Pathri Behak around noon and it was challenged. “The militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. The exchange of fire has stopped and a combing operation is underway,” sources said. There was no report of any casualty on either side. TNS
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