Jammu, 02 August (H.S.): A day after two migrant labourers were killed in a terror attack in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday questioned the Centre's narrative on security in the Union Territory.

Choudhary called into question the effectiveness of the security framework put in place ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, and demanded a high-level probe into the killing of innocents ever since the ruling National Conference staged a protest in New Delhi on July 20 seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

Expressing condolences to the bereaved families, the deputy chief minister said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have become tired of condemning terror attacks and want an end to the more-than-three-decade-long militancy.

Jammu and Kashmir has been battling militancy for the last 37 years. The Centre revoked the region's statehood, separated Ladakh, and abrogated Article 370 on the promise that terrorism would be eradicated. Six years later, if innocent people are still being killed, the Centre must explain whether its experiment has failed, he told reporters here.

Choudhary said the recent killings -- of a policeman in Anantnag on July 22 and two migrant labourers in Kulgam on July 31 -- came in the wake of the National Conference's protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding statehood restoration.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar