Harassment of people continues in Kashmir Valley: PDP

Opposition PDP today alleged that harassment of people and indiscriminate arrests continued in the Valley, saying there was no change of heart or policy on part of the government."The government continues to rule through brute force, cracking down on youth and muzzling all voices of protest while trying to divert attention from atrocities in trademark National Conference style," PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said in a statement here.She alleged that hundreds of innocent youth were lying in jails, interrogation centres and police stations which are not even acknowledging their arrest."Every day dozens more are picked up from all corners of the Valley by different agencies," she said adding PDP workers are being arrested without any reason except for their party affiliation and many of them have been booked under PSA. She said these arrests have taken place in spite of chiefminister Omar Abdullah retracting from his earlier claim thatPDP workers were involved in stone pelting.    "The release of a few people which government touted as a gesture under its so-called new strategy was actually in response to court directions. But unfortunately even court orders are not complied with in most cases. The police is now known to have a rate list for release of youth, with the income shared by ruling party workers," the PDP president claimed.Referring to the killing of Bilal Ahmed Najar, a PDP activist in Anantnag last month, Mehbooba said the young man was fired at while participating in the funeral of another victim of police atrocities."A cock and bull story has been fabricated in the FIR about his being involved in stone pelting on a politicians house. However, the spot where Bilal was apparently targeted is one km away from the politicians house, making it a cold blooded murder," she claimed.She said it was a travesty that the government, which ordered judicial inquiry into some of the recent killings, had refused to include all incidents within the ambit of the probe commission."The government has further eroded its credibility by refusing to include all the killings during recent protests under the purview of the Commission of Inquiry," she said.