Two separate terrorist attacks in J&K left a young tourist couple from Jaipur wounded and a former BJP sarpanch dead, marking attempts to sabotage Lok Sabha elections in the Union territory.
Sources said Tabrez and his wife Farha from the Rajasthan city were attacked in Yannar near Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. According to reports, they were at a tourist campsite at the popular destination when the attack happened.
Kashmir zone police confirmed the couple was taken to a hospital for treatment, but the nature of their wounds and their condition were unknown. This is the third terrorist attack on non-natives in J&K this election season. On April 17, a 35-year-old roadside food vendor from Bihar was shot dead in Anantnag, and on April 8, a tourist taxi driver from New Delhi suffered bullet wounds in Shopian district when he stopped at a restaurant while transporting tourists.
In another attack in Shopian, terrorists gunned down former sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh near his home in Heeripora. Security forces have launched manhunts at both attack sites. According to sources, the Lashkar-e-Taiba-backed Resistance Front could be behind the attack on the Jaipur couple.
Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti condemned both assaults in a tweet: “…the timing of these attacks given that the South election was delayed without any reason is a cause of concern. Especially keeping in mind normalcy claims touted by GOI.” Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency is set to go to the polls on May 25, with Mehbooba Mufti competing against Mian Altaf Ahmad of National Conference and Zaffar Mansh of Apni Party in a three-cornered contest.
The polls were initially scheduled for May 7.
