New Delhi: An independent forum of eminent citizens including former Supreme Court and high court judges, civil servants and armymen have condemned the targeted attack which killed 26 people on April 22 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The statement by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu & Kashmir advises Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to consult with J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah along with members of the elected administration and the legislature, to arrive at a solution.

The signatories include former Union government home secretary Gopal Pillai and former member of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir Radha Kumar. The two are co-chairs of the Forum.

Signatories also include former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur, former Patna high court judge Justice Anjana Prakash, former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, former chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Shantha Sinha, activist Enakshi Ganguly, columnist Anand Sahay, lawyer Shivani Sanghavi, advocate Abhishek Babbar, and retired armymen Major-General Ashok Mehta, Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak and Colonel Yoginder Kandhari.

The full statement is given below.

Forum for Human Rights in Jammu & Kashmir: Press Statement on Terrorist Attack in Pahalgam

The members of the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir unequivocally condemn the heinous communal attack by militants on tourists and locals in Baisaran valley, Pahalgam. This reprehensible act of terrorism has caused the grievous loss of at least 28 lives [editor’s note: the official toll at the time of reporting is 26] and left many more in a critical condition. The Forum expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a full recovery to those injured. It also stands with the people of Jammu and Kashmir who observed a day-long shutdown in solidarity with the victims of the attack.

The Forum reaffirms that terrorism in all its manifestations constitutes a serious threat to the welfare of citizens in Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of the country. According to sources reported in the media, The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the dastardly communal attack. We expect the Pakistan government to conduct an enquiry, arrest functionaries of the organization and make them available to Indian investigators for interrogation and, if their culpability is established, prosecution.

The Forum also urges our Prime Minister and Home Minister to consult with the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, along with members of the elected administration and the legislature, to jointly devise a counter-terrorism strategy that will adhere to humanitarian guidelines and safeguard the rights of civilians.

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