Jammu, May 13 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Tuesday condemned the Pakistan Army for targeting the civilian population in the recent clashes and demanded a special prime minister’s package for proper rehabilitation of the affected population.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra made the demand after conducting an extensive tour of different affected areas of Poonch district.
As many as 20 persons lost their lives and over 50 others injured in indiscriminate shelling by the Pakistan Army in the worst-hit Poonch district.
Accompanied by senior party leaders, including working president Raman Bhalla, Karra visited Baila village in Mandi area and offered condolences to the family of an Islamic scholar Mohammed Iqbal, regretting that the martyr was labelled as a terrorist by a section of national media.
“This is highly condemnable and demands appropriate legal action. This has hurt the shattered family and all right-thinking people in the society besides harming his image,” he said expressing solidarity with the deceased’s family.
The Congress team also visited the houses of several other civilians killed in Pakistani shelling besides the famous Shri Budda Amarnath temple and Dera Nangaali Sahib and offered prayers for peace, harmony and brotherhood.
They later visited Bagyala Masjid Zia ul aloom, Poonch city, Gita Bhawan, and Gurudwara Singh Sabha Mohalla, which have also suffered damages.
The Congress team also visited the hospital to inquire about the injured.
A party spokesman said that people demanded compensation for the loss of lives, property, crops and livestock without any delay.
Talking to reporters, Karra condemned Pakistan for targeting the civilian population and said Poonch district is the worst affected in the whole country, regretting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not mention the district in his speech on Monday evening.
“The prime minister should accept the Congress demand for an all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament to discuss the situation from Pahalgam carnage to the ceasefire by a third country,” said Karra.
“The nation has a right to know the various aspects of the past 20 days and the terms of the ceasefire,” he added, pressing for a special PM package for shelling-hit people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Congress leader justified the demand for more community and individual bunkers with all facilities in different parts of the district.
He also forcefully raised the demand for immediate reliefs and rehabilitation besides martyr status to all those killed in Pakistani shelling.
The Congress team later visited Mankote and Mendhar to express solidarity with people and offered condolences to those whose members lost their lives in the shelling. PTI TAS AS AS
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