August 18, 2026 05:50 am (IST)
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Burhan Wani might have been spared had the government known his identity: Mehbooba Mufti
Srinagar, July 28 (IBNS): Amid ongoing tension in Jammu and Kashmir, state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said that she was not aware about the presence of top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani inside the house in Kokernag on July 8 when the encounter took place.
On being asked that had the government known about Wani’s presence, what would have been its action, she said, “If we had known, then security forces might have given him one chance at a time when the situation was improving.”
The Chief Minister seemed to suggest that had anyone known that Wani was at the hideout, the government would have made proper arrangements to prevent the situation "from turning to what it is today" after his death.
She said the present government didn’t get the time to prepare security measures unlike the previous government which handled the aftermath of hanging of Afzal Guru without much damage.
“Our government did not have the luxury of time to prepare and prevent widespread violence in the aftermath of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander's killing. (Former CM) Omar Abdullah had enough time to prepare security measures when parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi in February 2013,” Mehbooba said.
Mehbooba added that “we imposed curfew so that youths don’t come out (of their homes). But youths moved to other areas and people took them inside (security forces) camps.”
On the use of pellet guns, she said that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed his seriousness in considering other alternatives for crowd control.
(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)
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