National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has rubbished successor Mehbooba Mufti's claim that she was not aware of the encounter between the security forces and Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, which resulted in the latter's death. Abdullah said that Muft was kept fully informed of the July 8 encounter.
"I'm going by the first on record statement by Jammu and Kashmir Police to the media that the CM (chief minister) was kept fully informed of the encounter. At no point in the first Jammu and Kashmir Police media briefing was it ever suggested that they didn't know who was trapped," Abdullah said in a series of tweets.
Abdullah's remark come after Mehbooba Mufti yesterday claimed that the security forces were unaware about Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's hideout, adding that he would have been given a chance had they known about his presence.
Mehbooba said, "How are we supposed to know everything about every encounter? As far as I know, what I heard from the police and the army, who said they only knew that there were three militants inside the house but did not know who they were."
"I believe that had they known he was there, Wani would have been given one chance as the situation was fast improving in the state. He would have been given a chance," she added.
The chief minister also countered Omar Abdullah by saying that unlike when Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in 2013, her government did not get enough time to make arrangements to contain the situation.
"When Afzal Guru was hanged, Omar knew (about it). So, he made all the arrangements in advance. We knew nothing and we came to know suddenly. But despite that, we tried to impose curfew so that children do not come out," she said.
At least 47 people died and around 5,500 people, including 3,000 security personnel, have also been injured in the violence that rocked the Valley since July 8, when Wani was killed in an encounter.
