The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest in Shopian on Sunday against Pakistan following the killing of party worker and former sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh by terrorists.
The party accused the Jammu and Kashmir civil administration of neglecting repeated requests for security for key functionaries facing terror threats.
BJP workers gathered outside the ‘mini secretariat’ in Shopian, chanting slogans against the district administration for failing to provide safe accommodation to vulnerable party leaders and workers. Sheikh was killed, and a tourist couple from Rajasthan were injured in twin terror attacks in Shopian and Anantnag districts late on Saturday.
“We have been requesting the deputy commissioner for a year to provide safe accommodation to our leaders and workers, but he has been delaying. Now we have lost one worker,” a protester lamented.
Altaf Thakur, a BJP spokesperson, attributed the death to administrative negligence.
“Terrorism will not be allowed to raise its ugly head in Kashmir again, but there has been a lapse on the administration’s part as well. The responsibility for Aijaz’s martyrdom lies with the deputy commissioner,” Thakur told the media. He added, “Some time ago, we had written to the deputy commissioner that Aijaz was receiving threat calls, but he ignored it.”
In the aftermath of the attack, neighbors and relatives visited Sheikh’s family in Hirpora, Shopian, to offer their condolences. Sheikh leaves behind his mother, his widow Shabnam Kausar, and their three children, including a two-month-old daughter.
Kausar described her husband as a dedicated worker who focused on local development and spreading awareness about government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. “I want to ask the assailant what my husband had done to him? Did he take his property that he murdered him? He made my three children orphans and me destitute. May Allah do the same to his (family),” she said.
Recounting the horrific night, Kausar said the assailant came to their door late on Saturday, asking for her husband. “I was preparing the feeder for my infant daughter when he came to the door. The moment my husband confirmed that he was Aijaz, the assailant fired seven to eight shots before fleeing,” she added.
The BJP’s protest and accusations highlight ongoing concerns over security arrangements for political workers in the region, particularly those under threat from terrorist activities.
The party has called for immediate action and accountability from the district administration to prevent further such tragedies.