At least seven residential houses have been demolished in parts of south Kashmir by authorities over the past two days in the aftermath of the Pahalgam militant attack after authorities alleged that the houses belong to militants.
The residential houses of the seven families were demolished in Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, and Anantnag districts of south Kashmir within 48 hours on Thursday (April 24) and Friday (April 25).
Authorities claimed all houses belonged to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba members, some of whom, according to the authorities, are alleged to be involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The suspected militants targeted were identified as Ahsan Ul Haq Sheikh of Muran village and Haris Ahmad, both in Pulwama district; Zakir Ahmad Ganie and Zahid Ahmed, residents of Matalhama in Kulgam district; Shahid Ahmad Kutay, a Shopian resident; Asif Ahmad Sheikh in Tral; and Adil Thoker in Bijbehara of Anantnag district.
Interestingly, there was no official statement from either the civil administration in Jammu and Kashmir, army, or J&K Police about the demolitions. The authorities were only talking to media in an unofficial capacity.
The demolition comes despite the Supreme Court recently denouncing the demolition of residential houses of suspects without issuing show-cause notices to their owners, holding that the right to shelter is a fundamental right as part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
“When I reached, my mother and sisters had been taken away by police as well. During the night, I saw a man in camouflage who had come perhaps to plant a bomb. We have no idea about the attack (in Pahalgam). This house was built by our grandfather. We have a share of only two rooms in it, but they have destroyed it entirely,” Yasmeena, sister of Asif Sheikh, one of the five suspected militants, said to The Wire.
She went on to say: “Even if my brother was involved in the Pahalgam attack, what has our family got to do with it? Why are our parents being punished for no fault of theirs?”
