Three non-local labourers belonging to Bihar were injured when two masked terrorists entered their rented accommodation in the Gagran village of Shopian on Thursday evening and fired at them.
All the three were shifted to Srinagar for specialised treatment as the security forces launched searches to hunt down the assailants.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack saying on his twitter page, “Very unfortunate. I unreservedly condemn this attack and send my best wishes to the injured. I hope they make a complete & speedy recovery.”
Another former chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad also condemned the attack. Talking to the media Azad said, “There are so many non-locals who work in J&K…It is unfortunate that they are being attacked…All this is carried out by militants…It is deeply saddening…The Centre should take responsibility and people should continuously condemn such practices.”
Mehbooba Mufti, president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former chief minister said on Thursday, “Condemn the attack on non-locals at Shopian today. I pray for their swift recovery.”
Thursday’s attack on non-local labourers is not the first such incident in which terrorists have fired at unarmed civilians in Kashmir.
Yet, there is a sinister design behind attacking non-local workforce in Kashmir that has, over the years, become the driving engine of local economy/industry by providing manpower for construction, agriculture, horticulture, brick kiln business, barbers, electricians, painters etc etc.
The design of the terrorists is not just to convey a ‘not welcome’ message to non-local workers, but to ensure crippling of all the economic/industrial activity that goes on in Kashmir with the help of non-local skilled and semi-skilled workforce.
It is not just an attack in which the terrorist chooses a soft target, but also a message killing that the terrorists are basically neither on the side of the locals nor the non-locals.
–IANSsq/dpb