Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 4: Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal, additional general secretary of National Conference, has taken strong exception to the latest statement of the Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parikar who said that security forces were in J&K to kill and not to get killed and that, AFSPA was needed to do that.
Recollecting the words of wisdom of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his visit to Kashmir that keeping the Army for civilian work for long period will only ruin this great institution, Mustafa Kamal cautioned Parikar not to deal with the Army as if it were a toy.
“Its involvement in anti- militancy and law and order operations for last 26/27 years has been an unmitigated disaster worst confounded and even more so as days go by. AFSPA should go immediately and Army should disappear from civilian areas going back to deployment and the strength of Pre- 1990,” he said.
“Army’s Sadbhawana scheme has become a laughing stock in the public with little or no results despite big spending from the public exchequer. Despite a free hand for the last 27 years armed with the black law AFSPA, situation in J&K has gone out of hand and the memories of excesses, wanton death and destruction by the Army in J&K will be recorded as a dark chapter in the history of India and haunt the establishment for a long time,” the NC leader further said
Mustafa Kamal said National Conference strongly believes that it is not in the overall national interest of the country to make J&K a battle ground and an all out effort in all sincerity should be made to give peace and reconciliation a chance with Pakistan and within J&K.
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