J&K: Anti-Pak protests continue in Jammu against Rajouri terror attack

Jammu, May 6 (PTI) Several anti-Pakistan protests against the killing of five elite para commandos by terrorists were staged across Jammu for the second day on Saturday as DPAP chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad called for necessary measures to stamp out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir.

Lawyers associated with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association staged a peaceful protest in the court premises at Janipur, condemning the killing of the Indian Army soldiers during an ongoing operation in the forested Kandi area of Rajouri district on Friday.

The bar association’s General Secretary Parvesh Singh Salaria said the protest was meant to lodge a strong protest against Pakistan’s continued support to cross-border terrorism in India.

“We request the government to deal sternly with this menace which is claiming the lives of our brave soldiers,” he said.

Shiv Sena Dogra Front, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal and IkkJutt Jammu also staged separate protests in the city, demanding action against Pakistan to avenge the killing of the troopers.

“The latest killing of five soldiers is the third major incident in Rajouri district this year. Though the overall security situation is under control and militancy is almost finished, the incidents in Rajouri and Poonch belt are a cause of concern for all of us,” Azad, a former chief minister, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

He hoped that the Centre and the J&K administration would take necessary measures to ensure no such incidents are repeated.

“Over the past few decades terrorism in Jammu Kashmir has consumed precious lives and we all need to stand against it and condemn it in strongest words,” Azad said.

He said terrorism deserves the highest level of condemnation by all people and the time has come when it needs to be rooted out once for all.

Senior BJP leader and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma said the highest sacrifice of jawans in a terror attack cannot be forgotten and soon a befitting reply would be given to terrorists by the armed forces.

“Pakistan and its terrorists are trying to show their existence by carrying out such ghastly acts. They are trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere,” he said, attending the last rites of one of the fallen soldiers, paratrooper Neelam Singh, in Akhnoor belt on the outskirts of Jammu.

J&K Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Jahanzaib Sirwal, who also joined the last rites of the soldier, said the frequent attacks by terrorists reflect the ground situation in the Union Territory.

“We express solidarity with the families of the bravehearts who laid down their lives for the nation and salute their sacrifice. This is the second major attack on the Army within two weeks, resulting in the loss of 10 precious lives,” he said.

Sirwal said the BJP-led government owes an explanation to the nation as it has been claiming that terrorism has ended after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry also condemned the killing of the soldiers and demanded neutralisation of terrorists and their ground workers.