Speaking with evident urgency, Sheikh Imran made clear that the attack was not merely a personal assault on one individual but an affront to the entire organisation. 

 

"Every single member of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Imran Raza Ansari," he said. "This was not an attack on his child or his brother. This was an attack on every member of the Peoples Conference — and it was nothing short of an attempt to murder them." 

 

Conveying a message from party president Sajad Gani Lone, he urged all members to exercise patience and restraint while reaffirming the collective resolve that the party would stand with its General Secretary until the very end.

 

The statement, however, extended well beyond an expression of solidarity. Sheikh Imran trained sharp and pointed criticism at a local SDM who, he alleged, had formally hosted a dinner for the General Secretary of Ittehadul Muslimeen, an organisation proscribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

 

Calling it a brazen double standard, he questioned whether the same official had extended or intended to extend similar courtesies to the families of Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, or Hafiz Saeed, all of whom lead or are associated with banned organisations. 

 

"The new fashion is: the organisation is banned, but its heads are not," he said. "Then tell me — if Lashkar-e-Taiba is banned, is Hafiz Saeed banned or not? Why are the leaders of banned organisations being given police protection and formally facilitated by this administration?"

 

He also drew a pointed contrast between the state's treatment of Jamaat-e-Islami, whose schools were seized, assets frozen, and members subjected to regular raids, and its apparent indifference toward Ittehadul Muslimeen, which faces a comparable ban but appears, he argued, to have faced none of the same consequences. 

 

"We are not against their Madina Public School, not at all. But if Jamaat's assets were taken over, what is this partnership with the other side? Is the MHA's ban on Ittehadul Muslimeen fake?" he asked, demanding a coherent and consistent answer from the administration.

 

Praising law enforcement for swift arrests across Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla, and other districts, Sheikh Imran nonetheless expressed alarm that several accused remained at large because the offences they are charged with allegedly carry sentences of under seven years, a threshold that limits detention options.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel 

 

He demanded the PSA be applied to each and every one of the culprits without exception. More troubling still, he said, was what the weapons and equipment found on the attackers revealed about the nature and sophistication of the alleged conspiracy. 

 

"It wasn't just swords and knives. We saw earpiece wireless sets, gadgets I haven't seen in our police department, nor in the DG's or LG's security detail," he said, raising the question of whether coordination was occurring locally or, as he pointedly suggested, with elements across the border in Pakistan. He also referenced unconfirmed reports that the swords used in the attack may have been coated with poison, asking with controlled intensity: "Whose murder were you out to commit?"

 

Sheikh Imran went further still, alleging that the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir United Shia Council, established in May of this year, was in effect a reconstituted front for the banned Ittehadul Muslimeen, with the same district, mohalla and halqa-level leadership simply rebranded under a new name. What made this particularly alarming, he argued, was the speed with which the new organisation appeared to gain official recognition: formed in May, it was reportedly invited to attend Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's review of Muharram arrangements as early as June. 

 

"What is this organisation? And what are its real credentials?" he asked, calling for scrutiny of how and why it was given such access in so short a time.

 

He also brought National Conference MLA Saifuddin Bhat into the frame, alleging that Bhat carried a documented history of anti-national activity, citing a charge sheet and FIR number 63 with arrests going back to 1970 and 1980, and formerly associated with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen. 

 

"Saifuddin Bhat Sahab is today a National Conference MLA. This is the misfortune of this Kashmiri nation," he said. He further urged the police to examine the SDM's phone records and tower data, alleging that the official had raised slogans for compromise while dining with individuals from organisations the Home Ministry itself has declared banned.

 

Closing his statement, Sheikh Imran was careful to distinguish between leadership and ordinary membership, extending no hostility toward rank-and-file members of Ittehadul Muslimeen or toward any community, Sunni or Shia. 

 

"We are not against you. We did not ban you, the Government of India, the Home Ministry, and the LG did. So why have you come out with swords against our General Secretary?" he said, adding with certainty that any thorough background check of those who took up weapons that day would reveal histories rooted in militancy. (KNS)