Two persons from Uttar Pradesh were shot at by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on Friday evening, officials said.
Sufiyan and Usman were injured after being shot at in the Mazhama area of Magam in the central Kashmir district, they said.They were taken to a hospital and were stated to be in stable condition, the officials added.
Meanwhile, security heightened in Jammu and Kashmir's Mazhama, in the Magam area of Budgam district where terrorists fired upon two non-locals.
The injured were immediately shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, where their condition is said to be stable. The whole area was cordoned off by the security forces.
Political parties in the Valley condemned the attack with National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi asking "why this sudden rise in these attacks immediately after the recent elections".
In a post on X, the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar said, "Saddened by the news of the terrorist attack on civilians in Mazhama, Budgam. My sympathies and prayers with the victims and their families." "The BJP regime which is directly in control of the security in Jammu and Kashmir should be held accountable for these repeated failures," he said. "Also want to ask why this sudden rise in these attacks immediately after the recent elections?" Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra strongly condemned the attack, terming it most unfortunate and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Karra urged the government to take effective measures to contain "such inhuman, shameful and cowardice acts".
Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari described the attack as the worst form of cowardice.
"Terrorists have once again attacked non-local labourers, this time in Mazahama, leaving two of them injured. This is the worst form of cowardice on the part of the perpetrators. I pray for the swift recovery of the injured. The security agencies must ensure that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice," he said.
The Peoples' Conference led by Sajad Lone said it was senseless violence.
"We strongly condemn the cowardly attack on two innocent individuals -- Sufiyan and Usman from Uttar Pradesh -- who were shot at by militants in Budgam today. This senseless violence has left them injured and we pray for their quick recovery," the party posted on X.
This is the fifth attack by terrorists in the Kashmir Valley since the formation of an elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
On October 24, two soldiers and two Army porters were killed while another porter and a soldier were injured in a militant attack on an Army vehicle six kilometres from the tourist hotspot Gulmarg.
Earlier that day, terrorists shot at and injured Shubam Kumar, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, in the Tral area of Pulwama district.
On October 20, a local doctor and six non-local labourers were gunned down by terrorists at a tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of Ganderbal. A labourer from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district on October 18.
*With Inputs from Agencies
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