India
Home minister P Chidambaram today said when an incident like this takes place, separatists find no place to hide their faces.
Updated : Nov 19, 2013, 11:17 PM IST
Condemning the killing of a young girl by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, home minister P Chidambaram today said when an incident like this takes place, separatists find no place to hide their faces.
"They (separatists) are obviously embarrassed. They do not know where to hide their faces when incidents like these take place. That is why they don't speak," Chidambaram said when asked about the reaction of separatists to the killing of Sheeraza Akhtar on Tuesday.
Recalling past incidents when militants killed young girls, infants and villagers, he said they were innocent children pursuing their studies.
"The militants go to their houses, ask for them and shoot at them at point blank range. This shows that the militants have no ethics. I condemn this incident," he said, adding it was strange that no organisation has claimed responsibility yet.
The home minister said, on the contrary, at the slightest provocation, the separatists accuse the security forces of committing atrocities on common people. "They accuse security forces of doing this or that, or committing this atrocity or that atrocity".
Chidambaram said he was not defending any atrocity by any one, and was ready to take action if security forces exceed their brief.
"We will certainly condemn that also. But these are school-going children. They have got aspirations, they have got ambitions; parents have ambitions for them, why kill these children," he told Times Now.
The home minister asked the Hurriyat Conference and other groups in Jammu and Kashmir to condemn such incidents.
"I think Hurriyat and other groups in Jammu and Kashmir must be united with a strong voice, and condemn these incidents. If they don't, I would be very unhappy," he said.
Conveying his condolence to the family of Sheeraza, Chidambaram said he would ask the Jammu and Kashmir police to leave no stone unturned to nab the culprits involved in her killing.