SRINAGAR: The Centre appointed special representative to Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, on Wednesday asked security forces in the state to show restraint in the Valley to avoid the Civilian killings.
The Sharma’s statement came after four youth excluding two local militants were killed in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Sunday. This was the second time this year that civilians were in army firing which could have spark unrest.
The Centre’s special representative to Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, on Wednesday asked security forces in the state to “show restraint” in the Valley, adding,Civilian killings must stop.
The Army said the civilians killed in the encounter were “OGWs” or overground workers, however, the victims’ families contested the Army’s allegation that they were accomplices.
“Security forces must show restraint and not resort to disproportionate firing,” Sharma told a national reputed daily.
“I was hoping for a better summer but violence has come as a setback,” said the former Intelligence Bureau chief, adding that among the south Kashmir districts, Shopian was “particularly alienated and angry”. He said, “We must be sensitive while dealing with the people of Kashmir.”
Pertinently, Ever since his appointment as an interlocutor on October 23, 2017, Sharma has visited the state five times – his latest trip was to Shopian on February 24. This visit came after three civilians were killed in Army firing in January 27. The Army claimed it killed the civilians in “self defence”, but witnesses said the killings were targeted at some people who had put up a black flag near the site of an encounter where a militant was killed. (KNB)
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