Take control of Kashmir, Hindu group tells central government

JAMMU - Panun Kashmir, an organisation of Kashmiri Hindus, Saturday asked the central government to act now to save Kashmir from becoming a hub of radical Islamists.

Pointing towards massive protests that erupted after the Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in Srinagar Saturday as separatists led a procession to Lal Chowk, the city centre, while a mob torched a police barrack outside the Hazratbal shrine, Panun Kashmir said any delay in taking action against radical elements would prove costly.

Panun Kashmir chairman Ajay Charngoo said at a news conference in Jammu that it appeared that “Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, by suggesting anti-national measures like diluting the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and jobs for stone throwers and honourable rehabilitation of militants, was pursuing a hidden agenda of the separatists.”

“There was hardly any difference between Omar Abdullah’s plans and (separatist) Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s agenda of seeking secession of Kashmir from India,” Charngoo said.

Violence and anti-India protests in the valley have evoked serious concerns among minorities in the state. Sikh leaders have already apprised the central government of their sense of insecurity, he said.

Sharing these concerns, Charngoo said the central government “should not allow itself to be blackmailed by Islamic fundamentalist forces that have taken control of Kashmir”.