| Hizb releases fresh audio tape, says won't target Amarnath pilgrims | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, June 26: Ahead of the beginning of annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra, Militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahdeen on Tuesday said that it has no plans to target the pilgrims.
In fresh audio tape, Reyaz Naikoo said that Amarnath pilgrims are 'our guests' and that they will not be targeted or harmed during the pilgrimage. He said that the recent statement of Director General of Police, SP Vaid suggesting that the militants will target the Amarnath pilgrims is false and baseless.
The statement of Director General of Police, SP Vaid is false and baseless. We didn't have any plan or intention to target the pilgrims," Naikoo declares in the audio tape.
Hizb Commander, whose name figures among the top 20 wanted militants, says that neither militants have targeted pilgrims in past nor they will be harmed in future. "Amarnath pilgrims visited Kashmir to perform their religious rituals and militants will not harm them because we are fighting against Indian state not Indians," he added. Last year, militants opened fire in a bus carrying pilgrims at Batengoo Anantnag- few meters away from Army's Brigadier Headquarter.
Although initially Police maintained that bus carrying pilgrims wasn't the target but terror attack evoked sharp condemnations from cross sections of Society.
8 Hindu civilian pilgrims on the way from Srinagar to Jammu were killed in a terror attack while as eighteen (18) others suffered injuries. Subsequently police registered a case (FIR No. 157/2017) under RPC sections of 302,307,326, 427 and 7/27 Arms Act and under section 16, 18, 20 ULA (P) Act. Jammu and Kashmir later filled charge sheet against 11 accused including some locals and Pakistani terrorists.
Last week, Security Agencies claimed to have foiled another attack after killing four ISIS militant in Nowshera-Khiram village of South Kashmir's Anantnag district.
"The four ISIS militants killed in the encounter at Nowshera were presumably planning an attack on the Amarnath Yatra," DGP SP Vaid had claimed. |
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