APSCC APPEAL HURRYAT TO INTERVENE
Srinagar:All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) has asked the separatist leaders to come forward and play their part in resolving the crisis that has come up following the harassment meted out to a Sikh girl in the Tral area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
In a statement, APSCC Chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said that some people want to disturb the brotherhood between the majority Muslim community and minority Sikh community in the Kashmir valley. He said people should be vigilant about these elements and should not allow playing with the bonhomie between the two communities.
“It is highly unfortunate that some youth tried to force a Sikh girl namely Mandeep Kaur resident of Gadapora-Tral to convert to Islam despite her strong observations about the same. The girl sustained injuries after she refused to listen to diktats of the youth. Kashmiris as a whole are very tolerant and the people who have carried out such an act can never be friends of valley residents,” said APSCC Chairman.
Raina said that Hurriyat leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik should issue a strong forwarded statement about the incident and denounce the elements involved in this act. He said the girl a student of Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST) was attacked with a knife when she resisted the move of converting to Islam.
“The incident needs to be probed in a professional manner so that the truth comes out before the people. Vice-Chancellor IUST should also take up the matter seriously and initiate a probe at his own level as well. Meaningful probe would settle the nerves of the community members as they are mentally disturbed over this unfortunate incident,” said APSCC Chairman.
Raina said that Sikhs in the valley did not migrate and rubbed shoulders with their Muslim brothers. He said it is the duty of Muslims to safeguard interests of Sikhs and they have been doing the same from time to time. He expressed the hope that the controversy would be over soon with members of both communities living through thick and thin.
