STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Congress Chief G.A Mir Friday demanded an immediate ban on the use of pellet guns on protesters by security forces in the Valley.
“The pellets have already inflicted serious damages to hundreds of people. Their use must be banned immediately,” he said, urging the authorities dealing with law-and-order to exercise restraint and avoid use of lethal weapons on the protesters.
Describing the prevailing law-and-order situation in the Valley as “dangerous”, Mir urged the Centre and the State Government to move ahead with a “great sense of responsibility” to put an end to the ongoing unrest.
“The deteriorating (law-and-order) situation is dangerous and a great loss to the State. The Centre and the State Government should move ahead with a great sense of responsibility and make serious efforts to reach out to the people (to end the unrest),” he said in a statement here.
Underlining the need to adopt a “holistic approach” to put an end to the unrest, Mir urged the Centre and the State Government to make “serious efforts” to restore normalcy in the Valley.
He also called for avoiding the “use of force or bullets” on people.
“Both the State and Central Governments need to ensure the safety of the common innocent people,” he said.
Describing the recent killing of an ATM guard allegedly by CRPF personnel at Chattabal here as “highly condemnable”, the State Congress chief lashed out at the ruling PDP-BJP combine in the State alleging that it was not even able to stop the killings of “innocent” people.
“These unfortunate incidents reflect the inability and inefficiency of the Coalition Government to handle the crisis.
“Killing or injuring the people without any provocation gives rise to anger, besides making it difficult, almost impossible, to restore peace. This is unfortunate that the State Government is still in a moribund condition and not able to stop the innocent killings which is a matter of serious concern,” Mir said.
Calling for calm, he appealed to the people to maintain peace and
avoid confrontation with the security forces.
