PDP, NC raise issue of highway stoppages in Assembly

Srinagar, Sep 22: PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra and NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi on Tuesday raised the issue of repeated halt of vehicles on highway in south Kashmir.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Parra said, security was important but could not become a blanket justification for repeatedly stopping ordinary citizens travelling on their own roads.
“It has become a sense of discrimination, be it tourists, yatra or convoy, people are subjected to a sense of huge humiliation as they are stopped time and again,” Para said.
He said locals should be treated as partners in maintaining security and not as suspects or obstacles.
“If Kashmiris after 70 years can’t walk with people across the country on the highway, it is a question mark,” he said.
Parra said restrictions could not be justified indefinitely on the basis of a single security incident and urged the government to take up the issue with the Government of India, security establishments and the Unified Command.
NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi called for an Assembly resolution on repeated highway restrictions.
“I know it is not in our control and it falls in the domain of Home Department, but a recommendation should be sent as to why it is being done,” Larmi said.
He said the Pulwama incident could not justify continued stoppages in south Kashmir, claiming that such restrictions had persisted since then and even ambulances had faced difficulties.
Larmi urged the House to pass a resolution on the issue and send a recommendation to the concerned authorities.
Parra said there was a need for a clear framework that protects security while safeguarding the dignity and right of citizens to travel.
“Security and civil rights must go hand in hand. No suspicion should mean no harassment,” he said. (KNO)