Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the Modi government of taking advantage of the 2016 ‘surgical strikes across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’ for garnering votes. The party also listed various surgical operations carried out in the last two decades and said that ‘such action was not the first of its kind though they were not politicized earlier’.
The accusations came a day after the release of footage of Indian Army’s surgical strikes in September 2016.
“BJP President Amit Shah has dishonoured the 70-year-long history of bravery and sacrifice of the armed forces by making a disgraceful statement on October 7, 2016 that Indian Army had crossed the LoC for the first time in 68 years,” he said.
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In characteristic of the determination of the armed forces, Surejwala said that they had conducted such surgical strikes with “with utmost precision and effective penetration”.
“We are proud that our forces have successfully conducted multiple surgical strikes over last two decades, particularly post the year 2000 — January 21, 2000 (Nadala Enclave, across the Neelam River); September 18, 2003 (Baroh Sector, Poonch); June 19, 2008 (Bhattal Sector, Poonch); August 30 to September 1, 2011 (Sharda Sector, across Neelam River Valley in Kel); January 6, 2013 (Sawan Patra Checkpost); July 27 to 28, 2013 ( Nazapir Sector); August 6, 2013 (Neelam Valley); January 14, 2014; September 28 to 29, 2016,” he said.
Earlier, strongly condemning the excessive use of power against the civilians by the armed forces, Hurriyat (G) on Wednesday said that on the pretext of search and cordon operations common people are deliberately targeted and victimized by the men in uniform.
Hurriyat Conference said that public delegations from different areas of the valley revealed that the armed forces have let loose a reign of terror in Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama, Islamabad, Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora.
“People are harassed, tortured and threatened of dire consequences under the garb of search and cordon operations. In this grim situation, the life of common people has become miserable and vulnerable at the hands of the massive presence of armed forces, who outnumber the local population in the nook and corner of the state,” Hurriyat said.
While appealing the United Nations Human Rights Commission to take cognizance of the gross violation of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, the Hurriyat Conference reiterated its demand that the civilized nations of the international community must rise to the occasion to help eradicate such gruesome human rights violations and must not leave the 100 million population of Jammu and Kashmir at the mercy of 8 lakh military personnel present in the state.
