Pak blast unites Kashmiri separatists, mainstream politicians against terror

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatists and mainstream political leaders and parties were, for a change, on the same page in condemning Sunday night’s suicide blast in Pakistani city of Lahore in which more than 70 people, mainly women and children, were killed and nearly 300 others were injured.

Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, and his father and National Conference (NC) president, Farooq Abdullah, in their statements issued here on Monday termed the incident as “dastardly and heart rending”. Expressing their solidarity with the bereaved families, the Senior Abdullah said, “This is another senseless act of barbarism that underlines the need to unite against the common enemies of peace and humanity. My heart goes out to the affected people and I pray the situation improves and incidents like these are never repeated”.

Omar Abdullah who is also NC’s working president said, “The loss of innocent lives in Lahore is a reminder of the challenges faced by innocent people across the world in fighting against barbarism and violence. I pray for those who have been affected and express my heartfelt solidarity with them”.

Chief Minister-designate and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti, said, “This despicable act is utterly contemptible and highly condemnable.” Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, she said, “My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends.” She asserted, “Such senseless acts of violence underline the need for uniting against the enemies of peace and humanity. The perpetrators of this attack cannot be termed as humans and they can never be part of civilized world.”

Strongly condemning the terror attack at Gulshan Iqbal Park, Lahore, Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric and chairman of his faction of separatist Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said “Terrorism in any form and at any place is  condemnable”. Stressing that there is no place for such inhuman practice of terror in Islam, the Mirwaiz said that at a time when common masses in most parts of the world do get killed in the similar mindless acts of terrorism, and the way terrorism is fast becoming the biggest challenge for the humanity, the international community needs to take united stand against terrorism and make combined efforts to curb this menace. He expressed solidarity with the government and the people of Pakistan at this hour of national grief.

Another senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a statement from a detention centre here termed the attack as “extreme of brutality and barbarism, which is strongly condemnable”. He said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir express their condolence and sympathy with the families of the victims adding, “Who better than Kashmiris can understand the plight of the affected families?”

He also said that the act committed in Lahore “is a crime and challenge to humanity the perpetrators can in no way be called as humans. Such acts are unacceptable”. He asked Islamabad “to rise to eradicate terrorism that has plagued the country and teach a befitting lesson to the enemies”

Former JKLF militant commander Javed Ahmed Mir said, “We stand united with the people and the Government of Pakistan in their resolve to fight the menace of terrorism and condemn use of violence under any circumstance". He added the atrocity of such proportion should outrage the feelings of every human being.

Pro-independence JKLF activists led by its vice president Bashir Ahmed Butt marched along the streets of summer capital Srinagar to show solidarity with the families of the victims. Many Kashmiris took to the social networking sites on Monday to express their anger over the Lahore terror attack and voice concern on the rise of terrorism in the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile in a statement mailed to this newspaper, Amritsar-based Dal Khalsa denounced the deadly terror attack in Lahore and said. “The people of East Punjab fully share the sentiment and pain of their neighbour and want to reiterate that they stand with the people and government of Pakistan at this difficult hour”. The statement quoted Dal Khalsa head Harchranjit Singh Dhami as saying, “We are perturbed over the mindless killings of innocent men, women and children in Lahore. Our heart goes out to the victims and their families.”

He hoped that the Pakistan government and its security establishment will bring the masterminds of Lahore attack to justice at the earliest. "The hidden forces, which are encouraging and engineering such terror acts targeting innocents especially children of Pakistan must be identified, exposed and punished. We feel the scourge of terrorism was damaging the Pakistan heavily”.