Mirwaiz, Abbas receive security vehicles in India held-Kashmir
Pakistan Times Kashmir Desk

SRINAGAR (IHK): Moderate Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, his predecessor Moulvi Abbas Ansari and several other top separatist leaders are among those who have been provided with security vehicles by the Jammu and Kashmir government, officials said.

They said about 508 vehicles with security personnel have been provided to several political and separatist leaders in the state with the number of such cars to each individual being determined on the basis of the threat perception, Kashmir Times reported.

According to the officials, five vehicles each of the security wing have been provided to Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and Tourism Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir while four each to ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti, Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Chief and state Rural Development Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, and Panthers Party Chief Prof Bhim Singh.

Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is the strong contender for the Chief Minister’s post in the state, has been provided with only two vehicles.

One vehicle has been attached with Mirwaiz Farooq while two with former Hurriyat Chairman Moulvi Abbas Ansari. Democratic Liberation Party Chief Hashim Qureshi and Lone brothers, Sajjad Ghani Lone and Bilal Ghani Lone - have also been given a vehicle each.

Assembly Speaker Tara Chand, Deputy Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone, Legislative Council Chairman Abdul Rashid Dar, Rajya Sabha member Saif-ud-din Soz have been provided with two vehicles each.

Daily Excelsior Editor SD Rohmetra and Daily Srinagar Times Editor Soofi Ghulam Mohammad, who is also the member of the Legislative Council, have been given two vehicles each. Journalist-turned-politician Nizamuddin Bhat has been provided with one such vehicle.

Three vehicles each have been given to National Conference leaders Abdul Rahim Rather and Ali Mohammad Sagar, and also CPI(M) Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.

The officials said the criteria adopted for providing security vehicles to political and separatist leaders, and also to individuals is based on the threat perception.●