Thousands throng funeral of slain Kashmiri editor
SHUJAAT BUKHARI WAS LEAVING HIS OFFICE IN SRINAGAR WHEN HE WAS ASSASSINATED
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Thousands of mourners gathered yesterday for the funeral of a veteran journalist shot dead by unidentified gunmen on a motorbike outside his office in the main city of Jammu & Kashmir.
Shujaat Bukhari, a leading journalist and editor of the English-language daily Rising Kashmir, was leaving his office in Srinagar on Thursday evening when three assailants pulled up on a motorbike and fired several shots at close range.
Bukhari, 50, was rushed to hospital, but was later declared dead. Two of his personal security guards also died.
Funeral prayers were held yesterday at the Jamia Masjid Grand Mosque in Srinagar before the burial in his native village in northern Kashmir.
Advocate of peace
Bukhari, who was given police protection following three attacks on him in the past decade, had been a strong advocate of peace in Kashmir.
The Himalayan territory has been divided since the end of British colonial rule in 1947 and both India and Pakistan claim it in full.
New Delhi has about 500,000 soldiers in the part of Kashmir it controls, where armed groups are fighting for ■ independence or a merger with Pakistan. Bukhari took part in informal peace talks on Kashmir with Pakistani representatives last year.
His final tweet, sent just a few hours before his murder, was a link to his website’s reporting of the UN human rights chief calling for a major investigation into abuses committed by both India and Pakistan in Kashmir.
The identity of the attackers and the motive for the killing was not yet known but Srinagar police released CCTV footage of the three suspects on the motorbike.
The government of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered a high-level investigation into the attack that came hours before the festival of Eid.
Rising Kashmir yesterday carried a full-blown portrait of Bukhari on its front page against a black background.
The murder has been condemned by political leaders who hailed Bukhari as a fearless and courageous journalist.
“Terrorism has hit a new low with Shujaat’s killing. That too, on the eve of Eid. We must unite against forces seeking to undermine our attempts to restore peace. Justice will be done,” tweeted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.