Former legislator Er Rasheed who concluded his three-day sit-in on Thursday walked barefoot to the civil secretariat here to express solidarity with the residents of Karnah and Gurez. Pic : Mubashir Khan/GK
President of the Awami Ithad Party (AIP)and leader of the Peoples United Front Er Rasheed on Thursday visited civil secretariat barefooted from site of sit-in to Chief Secretary’s office here to protest against what he called “ignoring the people of Karnah and Gurez.” Talking to reporters on conclusion of sit-in here Er Rasheed said that government will have to do justice with the people of Karnah and Gurez, who are living a miserable life for the want of proper road connectivity.
Er Rasheed said, “The three day sit-in must be a wakeup call for the state and central government and steps should be taken to ensure that work on these two prestigious tunnels starts at an earliest, so that precious lives, time and energy is saved. People of Karnah and Gurez do not need cross border shelling, neither has Government of India and Pakistan have any moral authority to make these places battle fields.” After concluding the sit-in Er Rasheed along with Sheikh retired district and sessions Judge, Ghulam Nabi, from Karnah on behalf of civil society Karnah walked inside the civil secretariat to submit the memorandum to the government.
Er. Rasheed said that walking barefooted to the civil secretariat is just a message not for the government but the common masses too not to underestimate the sufferings of people of border areas and we must treat them as humans. He said, “While in most of the cities and towns people have got macadamized roads but isn’t it shameful that in Karnah and Gurez it takes sometimes even a week to take dead body to its home.”
Er Rasheed submitted a memorandum to the government through Chief Secretary urging Union and State governments to take up the construction work for Karnah and Gurez tunnels in hand at an earliest. He added that he will be writing to Union surface transport minister over the issue. “If government fails to respond positively, we will knock and rock power corridors in Delhi by peaceful sit-in and other means,” he added.
