BJP-PDP govt breaches promise as mentally ill man arrested for stone-pelting in J&K

A specially-abled youth from Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district was on Wednesday booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for his alleged involvement in stone-pelting incidents during the unrest in 2016. The arrest comes even as the state government decided to grant amnesty to every person detained during the turbulent phase.

Eighteen-year old Umar Yusuf was summoned by local police earlier this week, following which the stringent Public Safety Act was slapped against him. According to the local police and Yusuf’s family members, he was booked for instigating street violence following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

“We were shocked to learn about his detention under the PSA. He is mentally ill. How could he stage protests or incite violence?” a family member reacted to the arrest.

The person added that the family couldn’t even afford to travel to Jammu’s Kathua Jail, where Yusuf has been lodged, leave alone getting legal help.

Yusuf’s detention coincides with state government’s decision of withdrawing cases against youth involved in stone-pelting.

Even before the arrest, there was widespread skepticism among the youth in the Valley as to if authorities would carry out their promise. Most of the youth facing stone-pelting charges see the move as mere eyewash and a tactic to digress attention from the Kashmir dispute.

“It is mere rhetoric. Nothing is going to change on the ground. It will not yield any result” says Mohmmad Imran (name changed), a resident of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Imran was recently released from jail after being booked for stone-pelting.

Another youth in Pulwama town, considered as the epicenters of stone-pelting in Kashmir, noted that there was hardly any let-up in the arrest spree that police was on, even though the government had promised amnesty to alleged stone-pelters.

“The successive governments also talked about taking a lenient view in cases involving stone-pelters, but nothing has happened so far,” he added.

Mustafa Kamal, a senior leader from opposition National Conference, sees the development as a ploy by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to hide its failures.

“The coalition government is trying to hide its failures by creating a new smokescreen. If it is sincere, it should withdraw cases against all stone-pelters and release political prisoners,” Kamal said.

“There has been a trust deficit among the youth and the state must address it. All the cases against stone-pelters must be withdrawn and there shouldn’t be any further arrest,” a human rights activist based out of the Valley said.

Not wishing to be identified for fear of his safety, the human rights campaigner added that release of all political prisoners should be expedited if the government was sincere in bringing back peace to the Valley.