JK: NC accuses PDP of killing 5 Hizb commanders

Srinagar, June 4: The National Conference (NC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a key ruling coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, of killing the five Hizbul Mujahideen commanders who held talks with the Centre in 2000.

In a statement here, a party spokesman launched a scathing attack on PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for ''double standards''.

The NC, the main opposition party in Jammu and Kashmir, said the PDP had strongly opposed a Bill in the state Assembly which sought safe return for those youth who had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) for arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

''Ms Mufti now calls for holding talks with the Hizb. This speaks volumes about the double standards adopted by both the PDP president and her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed,'' the spokesman said.

He said Ms Mufti was advocating for inclusion of the Hizb in the ongoing peace talks. ''She is being contradicted by none other than her father who says that time is not ripe for inclusion of the Hizb in the peace process,'' the spokesman claimed.

He said it clearly indicated that the father and daughter were trying to confuse the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

''Their contradictory statements are sufficient enough to prove that they are exploiting the sentiments of the people of the state,'' the spokesman added.

In contrast, he said the NC not only raised the issue in the state Assembly, but its chief Omar Abdullah repeatedly took up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

The spokesman said the NC initiated a dialogue with the Hizbul Mujahideen and invited the outfit for talks in 2000. ''The five Hizb commanders who held talks with the representatives of the Government were later killed in the PDP regime,'' he alleged.

On July 25, 2000, the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen, the single largest indigenous militant group active in Jammu and Kashmir, had declared a unilateral ceasefire for three months after the outfit agreed to hold talks with the Centre and the state government.

However, the Hizb called off the truce within 15 days on August 8, 2000 after India refused to include Pakistan in the talks between the two sides over the Kashmir issue as proposed by the outfit.

UNI