Mehbooba Mufti bats for slain terrorist Manan Wani’s sympathisers, says ‘Will be a travesty to punish them for remembering former colleague’

Former Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday batted for the sympathisers of slain terrorist Manan Wani, who was neutralised in an encounter with the security forces in Handwara area of North Kashmir on October 11. Mufti, while urging the Centre to withdraw cases against Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students, said “pushing youth to  the wall will be counter-productive.”

READ | Over 1200 Kashmiri Students Threaten To Leave Aligarh Muslim University Over Sedition Charges Against Fellow Student

Supporting the move of a few Aligarh Muslim University to hold prayer meeting for Manan Wani, Mufti said, “It will be travesty to punish them for remembering their former colleague who was a victim of relentless violence in Kashmir.”

Manan Wani was a former AMU scholar who was rusticated from the University after he joined Hizbul Mujahideen.

Earlier in the day, over 1200 Kashmiri students of the Aligarh Muslim University threatened exodus if sedition charges against two fellow students were not dropped.  In a letter to AMU Vice-Chancellor, former vice-president of AMU students union, Sajjad Rathar said, “If this vilification does not stop, more than 1,200 Kashmiri students will leave for their homes in the Kashmir Valley on October 17 as a last option."

READ | AMU Suspends Three Kashmiri Students For Holding A Prayer Meeting For Terrorist Manan Wani

This comes two days after three Kashmiri students of the AMU were suspended after they allegedly tried to hold a prayer meeting for the neutralized terrorist Manan Wani.

Meanwhile, Jammu-Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has reacted to the issue and assured the youth that his administration has taken up the concern for the well-being of the Kashmiri students studying in Aligarh Muslim University with their administrative counterparts in Uttar Pradesh so that students can carry on with their studies in a safe and secure environment