Srinagar: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, Prof. Saifuddin Soz Monday said killing civilians is akin to crime against the humanity.
In a statement issued here, Soz said, “On 10th October, 2021, I visited the house of Supinder Kour, Principal, Govt. School Iddgah, Srinagar, who was killed by the armed gunman along with her other colleague Deepak Chand in the school premises on 7th October, 2021, to offer my condolences to the bereaved family.”
“Earlier, I had visited the family of Makhan Lal Bindroo, killed a day before. I had given an interview to many news channels and newspapers including News 18 Urdu and strongly condemned these innocent killings and described them as crimes against humanity,” he said.
However, he said that unfortunately, News 18 Urdu has totally distorted his statement on recent killings of civilians by the gunmen.
“I straightaway condemned these civilian killings, particularly of unarmed and innocent civilian labourers and described these as crimes against humanity. I had added in the statement that the vast majority of Kashmiris condemned these killings and urged the administration to deal with such elements, causing these killings, with an iron hand,” he said.
“Having said that I had strongly pleaded the ultimate solution for this violent situation was to open a dialogue with all opinion leaders, particularly with the mainstream parties in Kashmir. I had also pleaded that the administration must rise to the occasion to fight armed militancy effectively and completely,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said that reportedly, the administration has taken the position that it is fighting the armed militancy in Kashmir as best as is possible for it.
