SRINAGAR: Amid apprehensions that militants may attack Amarnath yatris, Hizbul Mujahideen operational chief Riyaz Naikoo has said the yatris were their guests and they won't be targeted.
In an audio message, Naikoo said the Hizbul have no plan to attack the pilgrims. "We will never ever attack yatris as they are our guests and come here to perform their religious rituals."
"Militants have never attacked the Amarnath yatra. We are not at war with yatris. We are at war with those, who are suppressing the people of Kashmir," he said, rejecting the police claim that militants were planning to attack the Amarnath pilgrims. "We never attacked them in the past and we don't have any enmity with them. Our fight is with those who commit cruelty against our people and those who have forced us to pick up the gun."
"We want to tell Amarnath yatris that you face no threat from us. You come without security. You are our guests and don't feel frightened."
Security agencies have made tight arrangements for the annual Amarnath yatra, which commences from June 28, in view of the last year's militant attack in south Kashmir in which eight pilgrims were killed and about 19 others injured.
Meanwhile, Governor NN Vohra, also the chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), was informed that more than two lakh pilgrims had secured advance registration for the Yatra.