In a first, Mehbooba, Mirwaiz call for J&K shutdown today

SRINAGAR: PDP chief and ex-J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq separately called a “Kashmir bandh” Wednesday to protest the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam. This is the first time Mehbooba and Mirwaiz have given a call for a bandh after a terror attack.

“This isn’t just an attack on a select few; it is an attack on all of us. We stand together in grief and outrage,” Mehbooba said, urging people across the valley to take the cue from Jammu Chamber and Bar Association’s call for a shutdown.

“I appeal to all Kashmiris to unite in solidarity to support this bandh as a mark of respect for the innocent lives lost in the brutal assault in Pahalgam,” the PDP chief added.

Party member Yasir Reshi said Kashmiris needed to “send a message loud and clear that we stand united against this cowardly act of terror and our silence cannot be mistaken for acceptance”.

In a statement, Mirwaiz said: “Whoever kills an innocent soul…it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.” He said the Islamic fraternity of Jammu and Kashmir , through Mutahida Majlis Ulema (MMU), “in support and solidarity with the bereaved families of those killed”, appeals to the people to peacefully protest this heinous crime by observing a shutdown.