In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti as well as Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami have termed revival of Village Defence Committees as an attempt to create a wedge between communities and said the claims run contrary to normalcy by the authorities.
Mehbooba in a tweet said the move of the Ministry of Home Affairs to form Village Defence Committees across the territory is another addition to a slew of decisions that contradict Indian government’s much touted normalcy claims. “Clearly Kashmir is far from any semblance of normalcy,” she said, adding: “It will also create a wedge between communities.”
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami in a statement in Srinagar described the plans of the Indian government and the IIOJK administration to revive the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) as alarming. The move is bound to prove counter-productive, he added.
“These committees have faced accusations of gross abuses in the recent past. Reportedly police has filed around 200 cases against VDC members for rape and murder etc,” Tarigami said, adding, “Their role is shadowed by their involvement in rampant human rights abuses.”
It is to be mentioned that the Narendra Modi-led fascist Indian government has announced to revive and strengthen the Indian Army-backed dreaded militia Village Defence Committees (VDCs) to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing freedom movement.—KMS
