14 for 4: Hizb, J&K police release each other’s kin

SRINAGAR: Hizbul Mujahideen militants on Friday released two policemen, one SPO and 11 relatives of Jammu & Kashmir police personnel taken in a rash of abductions since Wednesday that were set off by the arrests of four relatives of militants, including the father of Hizb commander Riyaz Naiko. The unofficial prisoner swap is a rare quid pro quo in Kashmir’s violent past.
The Hizb let the 14 captives go after the J&K police had released the militants’ arrested kin. Sources later said police had arrested other relatives of militants as well and that they, too, had been released.
The militants also disseminated on social media separate videos of all 14 persons in which they are seen appealing to state DGP S P Vaid not to harass the families of militants. “Otherwise provide security to us,” Irfan Gulzar, a sub-Inspector, is heard saying in a video.
Former J&K CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti condemned the abductions. “Militants and forces victimising each other’s families is highly condemnable and marks a new low in our situation. Families shouldn’t become casualties and made to suffer for something they have little control over,” she tweeted.
Earlier in the day, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah had termed the situation as “worrying”. “11 abductions! This is a very worrying reflection of the situation in the valley. What’s worse is the selective outrage — people/leaders who are so vocal about alleged security force excesses are silent about these abductions,” he tweeted.

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from Times of India https://ift.tt/2N4ieBc