It’s been a week since by-elections were held in Srinagar that were marked by a lot of violence and a record low turnout. And now, two videos have surfaced in which pro-India workers can be seen chanting anti-India and ‘azaadi’ slogans at gun-point.
The workers have been identified as Wali Mohammed Bhat, a PDP worker and trader, and Bashir Ahmad Wani, a trade union leader.
The videos show them chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’, ‘Go Back India’ and ‘Hindustan Murdabad’ at gunpoint.
The videos were first shared by author and journalist Rahul Pandita:
And this…
Traders Federation President in Pulwama, Bashir Ahmad Chatapora forced to call for Nizam-e-Mustafa pic.twitter.com/tM0XINkc4G
— Rahul Pandita (@rahulpandita) April 16, 2017
An NDTV report says that the videos surfaced two weeks before the elections. The party says a group of gunmen had barged into Bhat’s house, forcing him to announce his disassociation with pro-India politics while pointing an AK-47 rifle at him.
As per a report by local daily Kashmir Reader, this comes weeks after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa released a video threatening pro-India activists in the valley. One of the videos uploaded by Musa also showed him inciting stole-pelters and saying, “When ever we are fighting with gun or throwing rocks, this should not be for nationalism but for Islam.”
The report added that militants in different villages of Pulwama have been barging into the houses of political activists and thrashing them.