Kashmir leaders criticise massive detention of locals after militant attack

Following a terror attack in South Kashmir that left a retired ex-serviceman dead and two of his family members injured, security forces have launched a massive crackdown, detaining hundreds of overground workers (OGWs) and terror associates across the Valley. However, Srinagar MP and National Conference leader Ruhullah Mehdi has strongly criticised the police action, calling it “punishment by exile.”

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On Monday, unidentified gunmen shot Manzoor Ahmad Wagay, a retired ex-serviceman who had left service in 2021, along with his wife and niece in Behibagh village, Kulgam district. In response, security forces initiated extensive operations on Tuesday, detaining more than 500 individuals in multiple areas.

“I have been briefed about reports of over 500 individuals being rounded up by the SOG in sweeping nocturnal raids across Kashmir. The actual number is suspected to be much higher,” Ruhullah wrote on X. “I cannot begin to imagine the terror of families whose loved ones now find themselves lost in the abyss of an opaque security system. This is not security; this is punishment by exile.”

While unequivocally condemning the attack on the Territorial Army soldier and his family, Ruhullah emphasized that violence—especially against women and children—is abhorrent. “But to punish an entire population for the crimes of a few is not counterterrorism - it is collective retribution,” he said.

He urged authorities in Kashmir and Delhi to establish a consistent and fair approach to security operations in the region. “The use of vague, legally unsound terminology such as ‘OGWs’ and ‘Hybrid Militants’ to justify human rights violations must be shunned,” he stated.

The NC leader also cautioned against governance through fear. “No regime in the world has successfully governed a population by making itself the object of its people’s fear and resentment,” he remarked.

“I strongly remind you of the moral calculus at play here: if you must rule by repression, then you have already lost your legitimacy,” he said. “If your idea of democracy is a Valley silenced by fear rather than engaged in dialogue, then your democracy lies in darkness.”

Meanwhile, Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said reports about mass detentions taking place across the Valley “is unprecedented.”

“Every such killing and causing injury to innocents is condemnable, but to target and detain in hundreds family members and relatives of those associated with militancy, because of their relationship, is harassment,” he said, adding, “It vitiates the atmosphere and furthers hostility.”

CPM leader and Kulgam MLA MY Tarigami said reports of nocturnal raids and arbitrary detentions were “deeply disturbing.”