Worst fears of the security forces have come true after dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) comes out of the closet claiming that the militant trio slain in J&K Entrepreneur Development Institute (EDI) building killed Captain Pawan Kumar of the Special Forces just to avenge the death of two civilians at Kakpora village on February 14.
Danish Farooq Mir, 19, and Shaista Hameed, 22, were killed when security forces resorted to tear smoke shelling and opened fire on a mob that was protesting against the killing of a local militant in Kakpora village of South Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14.
"Militants avenged the death of Kashmiri girl Shaista Hamid and Danish Farooq by killing Indian Army Captain Pawan Kumar. Militants have paid back by avenging their deaths," said Mehmood Shah, LeT chief, in a statement to local news agencies.
Captain Pawan Kumar of 10 Para (Special Forces) was killed when he led a daredevil mission to storm the EDI building on Saturday night. Captain Tushar Mahajan and Lance Naik Om Prakash of 9 Para (Special Forces) died on Sunday afternoon when they were busy in clearing the building from militants.
The Special Forces commandos were among six people, including two CRPF men and EDI gardner, killed in the encounter. Three unidentified foreign militants were later gunned down in 48-hour gunbattle.
"Due to the sacrifices of these militants, the sun of freedom will definitely rise in Kashmir. Frustration engulfed thousands of Indian troopers due to valiant show displayed by the three militants in the gunbattle. The parents of these faithful followers deserve admiration and praise," Shah said.
Hailing people for their support for militants, LeT chief said during Pampore gunfight it seemed that "whole Kashmir nation was up in arms against India".
What added a new dimension to whole saga was the remarks of independent MLA from Langate and Awami Ithaad Party chief Sheikh Abdul Rashid aka Engineer Rashid that alleged `brutality' of the security agencies are prompting the people to treat militants as saviours in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Had just killing militants been solution to the problem, government would have no objection in burying the slain militants in Hajin and Pampore. It is brutality of the security agencies, denial of right to self-determination to Kashmiris and biased attitude of administration towards Muslims that is making them (people) to respect and treat militants as their saviors," Engineer Rashid said.
