SC to hear Friday PIL seeking protection for Kashmiri students; Omar hits out at PM, Cong for silence

The Supreme Court Thursday agreed to hear tomorrow a PIL seeking protection for Kashmiri students being targeted following the Pulwama terror attack in different parts of the country over which the NC leader Omar Abdullah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining 'silent'.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), meanwhile, issued notice to the Union Ministries of Home and Human Resource Development seeking a report over the reported ill-treatment of Kashmiri people in the aftermath of the attack.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus.

An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Sanjiv Khanna took note of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves' submission that the plea for protection needed to be heard urgently as it relates to the safety and security of students.

The bench, which refused to list the plea for hearing on Thursday, however, assured Gonsalves that it will be listed for consideration on Friday.

The petitioner Tariq Adeeb, a lawyer, alleged in his plea that students from the Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country after the Pulwama attack and authorities concerned should be directed to take action to stop such assaults.

The petition, filed through advocate Satya Mitra, sought direction to the Centre for taking steps to prevent "threats, assaults, violent attacks, social boycotts, ostracism, evictions and other coercive acts" committed by groups and mobs against "Kashmiris and other minorities".

"There is a sudden rise in the incidents of crimes against Muslims and Kashmiris after the Pulwama attack....," it alleged.

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, hit out at both the prime minister and the opposition Congress for not speaking out against the "systematic targeting of Kashmiris" in various parts of the country.

The National Conference(NC) leader said he had been looking for a statesman but only found politicians, and asserted that the country needs an alternative to the BJP, not BJP's B-team.

"We didn't have much expectation from the BJP but we had expectations from the prime minister. We had hoped he would keep politics aside and say something," he said.

"While the PM is silent, it is sad the country's largest opposition party's leadership also remained silent," Abdullah added.

Abdullah also asked J and K Governor Satya Pal Malik to ensure the security of Kashmiri students who were forced to return home.

"There is need to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students who have returned home fearing attacks on them," he said, adding that arrangements should be made so they don't suffer academic losses.

The people of Kashmir, Abdullah said, were expecting to hear two words of sympathy and moral support from the Congress.

"Today, they had a press conference where everything was talked about. But they should have talked about the systematic targeting as well. These are the very forces that Congress is fighting with words and want to defeat... We regret the Congress has not raised its voice against these forces effectively."