Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference faction has termed PM Manmohan Singh’s statement that the situation in Kashmir was better now and that the government continued to pursue its policy of “zero tolerance” for human rights violations in the state as “misleading, a claptrap and a deliberate attempt to hoodwink the world
opinion”. “If the situation here is normal then what about 8,00,000 armed forces there for. Why have they transformed cities, towns and villages into virtual garrisons? Why are there so many security pillboxes and bunkers midst the civilian populations? Why do we see gun-wielding police, paramilitary and Army personnel present in every nook and corner of the state? Why are the AFSPA and similar black laws still in use and why are thousands of people, mainly youth, still languishing in jails and other detention and torture centre and media facing curbs?” it asked in a statement here on Friday.
The conglomerate faction alleged that the Prime Minister’s “zero tolerance” for rights abuses slogan was “only show off and a publicity stunt”.