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Indian Government Help Sought in Tracing Killers of 16-Yr-Old Kashmiri Boy

By Fayaz Wani

Srinagar, Feb 7: Asserting that political discussions are inescapable for seeking solutions to the problem of militancy, the Chief Minister of Kashmir, Omar Abdullah on Sunday, sought Indian government help to identify the killers of a 16-year old boy.

The 16-year old boy, Zahid Farooq was shot dead allegedly by Indian border guards on Friday, triggering fresh protests and clashes.

Eyewitnesses to the incident said that the boy was killed by Indian soldiers travelling in two vehicles carrying a "hangul" (red deer) insignia.

The mark is used by Indian border guards in Kashmir.

Speaking during a conference on internal security in India's capital New Delhi, Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah appealed to the Indian government to help the Kashmir government identify the culprits in the boy's killing and let the law deal with them".

He said that issues with roots in politics mostly underpin internal security and even armed insurgencies are for political space. "This being the case, the most obvious approach should be to seek an appropriate political solution for political problems", he said adding that a timely solution to a problem would prevent it from ballooning into a full-fledged law and order or internal security situation.

Advocating for a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which grants impunity to Indian soldiers in Kashmir, Omar said that in light of significant improvements in the security situation in the region, there is a very good case for removing the applicability of AFSPA from those districts of the state where militant or insurgent activities are minimal or insignificant.

"While there has been significant improvement in the overall internal security situation in the state during the last three years", he said "we cannot at this point in time afford to become complacent and let down the guard."

The Chief Minister said that while the intensity of the insurgency has declined in the State. The incidence of law and order problems particularly street violence and stone pelting at police has increased requiring a completely different approach to deal with this kind of situation.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.