Fire at Kashmiri leader’s residence termed an attempt on his life

Mirpur DBA, nationalist parties demand independent judicial probe.

MIRPUR: In response to an alleged attempt on the life of a Kashmiri nationalist leader, the Mirpur District Bar Association (DBA) and various Kashmiri nationalist parties have demanded the local authorities to conduct an independent judicial probe into the incident within 48 hours.

According to different reports, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Zone Secretary General of Jammu & Kashmir Peoples National Party, Advocate Raja Zulfiqar Ahmed, received multiple burn injuries in a fire that broke out at his residence in sector F/1 on Thursday night. He was taken to a Burn Centre in Kharian where he is undergoing treatment.

While investigators say the fire broke out due to short circuiting, the Mirpur District Bar Association and various Kashmiri nationalist leaders are convinced that it was an attempt on the life of the Kashmiri nationalist leader.

Addressing a press conference at the Kashmir Press Club, Mirpur DBA President Arshad Mallick claimed this was the fourth consecutive attempt on the life of a member of the local bar association. He said that similar “suspicious” attempts were made earlier on the lives of four seasoned local lawyers including former DBA President Riaz Inqlabi, Prof Fazal Hussain and Nawabi.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2012.