Tribune News ServiceSRINAGAR, Feb 5 — Blaming forces from across the border for the killing of six Sikhs, the Jammu and Kashmir. Governor, Mr Girish Chander Saxena, said here today that an inquiry would be held into the incident.
He said that the state was faced with a war-like situation and added that the leadership would decide on the “future plans” of Sikhs in Kashmir.
The Governor and the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, addressed a large gathering of Sikhs at Gurdwara Mahjoor Nagar here to mourn the death of six Sikhs at the hands of gunmen here on Saturday evening. The Governor and Chief Minister had to face angry demonstrators on their arrival at the gurdwara around 1 p.m. The agitated Sikhs gathered amid strict curfew restrictions were raising slogans against the government. “We want migration” was the main slogan being raised by the agitated Sikh youth.
Meanwhile, most parts of the capital city remained under tight curfew restrictions for the second day today following the killings at Mahjoor Nagar. The curfew was lifted in Rainawari police station here following improvement in the situation. Several other areas continued to be under an indefinite curfew. No relaxation was given in any of these areas today.
The Governor assured the agitated Sikhs that all their demands would be fulfilled and matters like this would be discussed with the understanding of each others’ problems. The Governor said that 11,650 civilians had been killed in the decade-long militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, while 12,500 militants were also killed. Out of 11,650 civilians, 8800 were killed by militants, while 2700 were killed in cross-firing. He said that 2800 security force personnel were also killed in the militancy, adding that last year, more than 100 police personnel had lost their lives while fighting militants.
While blaming Pakistan for the killing’s Dr Abdullah told the Sikhs that migration would not settle the matters in Kashmir. He alleged that Pakistan was responsible for the killings and it did not want peace to Kashmir. After the migration of Kashmiri Pandits, Pakistan wanted Sikhs also to migrate to show to the world that it did not belong to India. “Even an inch of Kashmir will not be taken by Pakistan, even if die”, Dr Abdullah said. He said migration would not solve the issue and urged the people to fight the “enemy” unitedly. He also referred to the massacre of Sikhs in 1984, where also the migration of the community did not resolve the situation.
Earlier, expressing concern over the incident, Sikh representatives, including Mr Harpal Singh Rattan, Secretary of the Gurdwara committee, blamed the civil administration for the incident. He alleged that local media was also responsible for the incident as it had highlighted the killing of an autorickshaw driver on Thursday last. He lamented that the separatist leaders of the Hurriyat Conference and Shabir Shah and Naeem Khan, who had assured the community of safety, were silent.
