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| Cutting across party lines, leaders seek security for non-Kashmiri labourers | | | Jammu, July 29
Leaders of various political parties, including the Congress, PDP, Panthers Party, BJP,VHP and Praja Parishad, have expressed deep concern over the diktat by hardliners and militants tonon-Kashmiri labourers to leave the valey within oneweek on the charge that two of them had been found involved in the rape and murder of a muslim schoolgirl at Langate in Handwara area recently. The APHC executive committee is meeting in Srinagartomorrow to discuss the issue and appeal to themilitants to desist from enforcing their diktat whichcould prove counter productive when hundreds ofKashmiri muslims had setup business establishments invarious Indian states and a large number of muslimstudents were studying in various colleges in
India.A senior Congress leader and MLA,Raman Bhalla,saidhere today "the development is unfortunate and peoplein the valley should come out and oppose the diktat ofthe hardliners and militants."He said "it is equallyunfortunate that the state Government did not provideany security cover to these non-Kashmiri labourers."Hewanted the Government to treat the issue not only onhumantarian grounds but in the interest of
confidencebuilding measures. Mr Bhalla wanted the Government to intervene so thatthose labourers who had fled the valley wereencouraged to return and were paid the wages by thosewho had engaged them in the fields or factories. The Panthers Party leader,Harsh Dev Singh,said thatprominent citizens,including lawyers,academicians,political leaders needed tointervene and
reverse the dangerous trend.He saidthose who had issued the threats to nonkashmirilabourers should be told about the adverse fallout itcould have when several hundred Kashmiri muslims wereengaged in business and studies in different states ofIndia. While the VHP Chief,Ramakant Dubey,demanded that syedAli Shah Geelani should be prosecuted Praja ParishadPresident,Chander Mohan Sharma said that theGovernment should provide security cover to thenon-Kashmiri labourers whose services people in thevalley had opted for as they would help them in cultivating and harvesting, in culling and packing fresh fruits,and in the construction of houses. Raman Bhalla said that throwing out non-Kashmirilabourers would mean another mass migration afterPandits from the valley because more than three lakhnon-local labourers were working in Kashmir. Chief Minister,Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that theseparatists diktat to Non-kashmiri labourers to leaveKashmir was nothing but an instance of their negativethinking.The PDP Chief Ms Mehbooba Mufti too hasopposed the diktat. Chander Mohan Sharma said that three lakh labourersshould not be punished for the crime committed by twomong them.He said if the militants adopt thisyardstick it should be applicable to local muslim alsobecause two Kashmiri youths were the main criminals inthe sordid drama.
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