TCN News
Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) strongly condemns Monday’s attack on Amarnath pilgrims in south Kashmir that killed seven persons, including five women, and injured 15 others.
Javed Anand, the convener at IMSD said, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the bereaved. We also express our solidarity and good wishes with the thousands of devotees who are still on the pilgrimage and call upon the security agencies to ensure incident-free progress of the Amarnath yatra hereafter.”
IMSD has also raised questions and concerns over the security of injured and dead pilgrims. The statement said, “The attack on the Amarnath pilgrims raises some other disturbing questions in view of the disclosure by the DG of CRPF that the bus and its passengers had disregarded every single security advisory.”
It further said, “The yatris did not register themselves for the yatra, the bus was not part of any convoy with security cover and the 7 p.m. curfew for travel of Amarnath yatris was ignored. As a safety measure, IMSD demands a thorough probe into such careless disregard of the security advisory.”
IMSD convener correlated Amarnath attack with the mob lynching incidents around the country. Hr said, “The attack on the innocent pilgrims is as reprehensible as the recent targeting of local Hindus by Muslim mobs in Baduria village in West Bengal, or the repeated targeting of Muslims in different parts of the country by Hindutva’s lynch mobs masquerading as gau rakshaks. The contexts and the methods employed by the murderers may be different but the motive remains the same: “hurt religious sentiments” is the pretext; creating communal discord between Hindus and Muslims is the aim.”
IMSD has reiterated its conviction that nothing justifies violence as a means to resolution of social conflicts. It denounces all perpetrators of mob terror and bomb terror, irrespective of their religious affiliation.
As an organisation of Muslims, IMSD has condemnedsuch elements and outfits among Indian Muslims who through their acts of intolerance and violence provide “justification” to Hindutva’s terror squads for the growing hatred and violence against the minority community.