J&K govt to review cases on protesters

Cases against protesters, especially students and first-timers, registered over the past four months of unrest in Kashmir will be reviewed, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Saturday while asking the administration to use compassion to wean away from violence the local youth who have joined militancy.

She asked the civil and police administration to prepare a roadmap for “healing the wounds” of people who have been victimised in the agonising situation prevailing in Kashmir over the past four months.

“We will review those cases where students and first- timers are found to be involved. We will talk to their parents and get their assurances that their wards will not participate in protests in future,” she said at meeting of top civil and police officials here.

Thousands of people have been arrested for stone-pelting and other kinds of violence during the unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Expressing concern over local youths joining militant groups, the chief minister said the civil and police administration should take steps to wean away such youths from the path of violence with “compassion”.

“Such misadvised youth must be given an opportunity to return to normal life and provided an honourable livelihood. Get in touch with their families and talk it out with them. We should seriously think about how and what kind of future they should have in a welfare society like ours where every citizen has equal rights,” Mehbooba said.

Noting that “Kashmir has witnessed a very painful and frustrating situation over the past few months”, she said, “Now as the situation is returning to normalcy, we have to prepare a roadmap to pull our people out of this agonising and complicated situation and heal their wounds.”