Both the factions of Hurriyat and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Monday demanded a complete ban on sale and consumption of alcohol in the state.
Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF Chief Yasin Malik in a joint statement asked: “If this prohibited substance can be banned in Bihar and Kerala like states of India then why can’t in Muslim majority state like Jammu & Kashmir and how could be its sale justified here?”
They said that the sale and distribution of alcohol and other dangerous drugs has got the patronage of the government and this menace is acquiring serious trend with each passing day.
While strongly condemning the selective “Freedom of Choice” stand of the government in this regard, the pro-freedom leaders said that this stand has no moral justification and said that the ‘selective freedom of choice’ slogan sounds absurd when the ‘freedom of expression’ is being badly muzzled by the same government.
“No civilized society endorses the sale and trade of liquor or other like products and everybody knows the seriousness of its impact on the health and the moral principles in the society,” they said.
The pro-freedom leaders said that this substance is becoming a major reason for the deteriorating social setup and values.
“We will jointly start to gather a public consensus in this regard and will launch a movement to eradicate this menace from the society,” they said.
“Jammu & Kashmir is a Muslim majority state and the stand of PDP-BJP government in this regard is against the religious sentiments of the Muslim population and which had seriously hurt them.”
