Washington                                                                                                                                                                                         16 June 2018                                                                                                                                                                                       (APP)

The US based World Kashmir Awareness Forum on Friday strongly condemned the assassination of veteran Kashmiri journalist, who was a staunch advocate of peace in the disputed valley.

Syed Shujaat Bukhari, a prominent journalist and the editor of a prominent newspaper Rising Kashmir was shot dead by three unidentified assailants on Thursday when he was leaving his office in Srinagar. Two of his security guards were also killed in the attack.

“There is no room for debate over assassinating an innocent person, like Syed Shujaat Bukhari. It is criminal. It
is brutal. It is sinful. And it is an evil that begets only more evil,” Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary General of WKAF said in a statement here.

Mr. Bukhari had previously been attacked, but the criminals left un-apprehended. Fai called for an independent and impartial investigation body to investigate the killing and prepare an official report so that justice will be done.

Fai denounced the attempt to assault freedom of the press, and praised the Shujaat Bukhari for his
unswerving devotion to his vocation educating the public to the freedom of thought and expression.

Dr. Fai said that there was no room for debate over assassinating an innocent person, like Syed Bukhari. He said that no cause overrides the humanitarian imperative of sparing innocent civilians from death, injury, or psychological trauma.

Three unidentified assailants riding motorbikes sprayed bullets on Mr. Bukhari when he was leaving his office.
He and his two guards died on the spot.

Bukhari was an active peace activist and had been writing on the violence in the disputed region. He was also part of the delegation that was engaged in informal peace talks between Pakistani and Indian representatives held
in Dubai last year.

The disputed Kashmir region has witnessed intense violence this year that has claimed lives of more than
130 people. A recent UN report accused India of using excessive force in the disputed region since 2016 and has called for an international inquiry into the gross human rights violations.