Nadimarg massacre mastermind's death in militant attack is divine justice, say Kashmiri Pandit leaders

Jammu: Migrant Kashmiri Pandit leaders on Monday termed “divine justice” the killing in a militant attack of an arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, who had allegedly masterminded the 2003 Nadimarg massacre of 24 local Hindus. Zia Mustafa, a Pakistani terrorist who was arrested in 2003 from Kashmir, was killed Sunday in militant fire when he was taken to Bhatta Durrian forest in Poonch for the identification of a terror hideout during a security forces’ operation. Three security personnel were injured. However, Kashmiri Pandit leaders said the government should not always wait for the “intervention of the God” to provide justice to victims and instead revamp the anti-terrorism system and set up fast track courts to decide terror-related cases in the shortest possible time. Hailing from Rawalakot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Mustafa alias Abdullah was arrested from south Kashmir in April 2003. He was shifted from Kot Bhalwal jail Jammu to Poonch on police remand. According to police, he had masterminded the gruesome killing of 24 Kashmiri Pandits including 11 women and two children in the Nadimarg village of Shopian on March 23, 2003. “We see his killing as a bit of divine justice for the victims of the massacre,” Panun Kashmir chairman Ajay Chrungoo told PTI. “It is unfortunate that despite being the mastermind of the case, he was still an under-trial prisoner. This highlights the loopholes in our system and the need for revamping the justice system to handover immediate punishment to the culprits involved in terror acts,” he said. He said India is the biggest victim of terrorism and the situation demands that the government focus on strengthening the anti-terrorism law further and set up special fast track courts to deal with it. Former General Secretary of All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC) T K Bhat said the “God has provided the justice to the victims as the government failed them”. “As per police, he was the mastermind behind the massacre but the case was lingering in the court for the last 18 years. The court should have decided his fate whether he is innocent or a culprit,” he said, echoing Chrungoo demand for setting up of fast track courts to deal with arrested terrorists. He said the trial in all the terror-related cases should be completed in the shortest possible time as justice delayed is justice denied. “Anyone who is found innocent should be released but those convicted should be handed over appropriate punishment to provide justice to the victims of violence,” he said.