Mehbooba Mufti, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), claimed that the Indian army entered a mosque in Pulwama district in south Kashmir and forced Muslims to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on Saturday.
“Shocked to hear about army troops from 50 RR storming into a mosque at Pulwama & forcing Muslims inside to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’,” Mehbooba tweeted.
“Such a move when @AmitShah is here & that too ahead of the yatra is simply an act of provocation. Request @RgGhai to immediately set up a probe,” she said in the tweet.
Mehbooba Mufti has specifically addressed Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, who recently became the General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Srinagar-based Army’s 15 Corps, in her statement concerning the alleged incident. She has called for him to promptly initiate an investigation into the matter.
Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Vice President of the National Conference, expressed his “deep concern” over the reports of Indian army personnel entering a mosque in Pulwama. He found the alleged incident to be “deeply distressing.”
“It’s bad enough they entered but then forcing people to chant slogans like “Jai Shree Ram” as reported by the locals there, is unacceptable. I hope @rajnathsingh ji will issue instructions for these reports to be investigated in a timely & transparent manner (sic),” Omar tweeted.
The alleged incident reportedly occurred during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. As of now, there has been no official statement from the Indian army regarding the allegations made by Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah. The situation remains without an official response from the army.
