The Hindu : 'A heinous crime against humanity'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

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'A heinous crime against humanity'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 24. The Rajya Sabha MP, Karan Singh, today described the massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits in Nadimarg as "an act of great inhumanity and cruelty''. In a statement here, he expressed his sympathy to the bereaved families and to "the entire Kashmiri Pandit community that has suffered so much over the last four years.''

The former Union Cabinet Minister and Rajya Sabha MP, Saifuddin Soz, said the massacre was "a heinous crime against humanity'' and deserved condemnation from all quarters. He called on the Jammu and Kashmir Government to direct the Police Department to bring the culprits to book.

The Kashmiri Pandit organisation, Panun Kashmir, expressed its shock and said the massacre was a cowardly act against a defenceless minority. The killings gave the lie to the claims of the J&K Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, that no harm would come to the Pandits who returned to the valley. The State Government's `healing touch' had "emboldened subversive elements to once again use minority killings as an instrument of ethnic cleansing.'' It also condemned the Centre for "being a mute spectator''.

A group of concerned citizens also condemned the massacre, describing it as a "monstrous act'' by those "bent upon derailing the efforts of those who are trying to bring Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims together''. In a statement signed by, among others, journalist Kuldip Nayar, chairperson of the Muslim Women Forum, Sayeeda Hamid, Mushirul Hasan, and the former Navy Chief, L. Ramdas, the group said that this was an act conceived to create fear among ordinary people of both communities. It called on the Government to ensure peace and protection of the minorities.

A group of Muslim said the sole purpose of the killings was to create a communal gulf in the State and was the result of the "frustration of the militants and their guardians''. The signatories to the statement included the Congress MP, K.M. Khan, the former Union Minister, Arif Mohammed Khan, the president of the All-India Muslim Editors Conference, Meem Afzal, and the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Wakf Board, Badr Saeed.

The Haryana Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, blamed Pakistan for the killing.

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