Srinagar, Oct 09: Former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Saturday said that the recent spate of killings of minorities in Kashmir appears to be a "foul design" to scare them out of the valley.
The onus of trying to repair the damage, he said, is on the shoulders of Kashmiri Muslims.
Seven civilians, four of them from minority communities, have been killed by militants in Kashmir in five days.
"This week has witnessed the foulest crimes in the history of Kashmir. The victims were Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs and obviously, Kashmiri Muslims were suspected," Baig said in a statement.
"There appears to be a foul design to scare away the few Kashmiri Hindus who had the moral and patriotic courage to stay back in their motherland," he said.
After targeting Kashmiri Hindus, now even the Sikh community, which is known for its valour and courage, has been targeted, he added.
"The onus to try to repair the damage falls on the shoulders of Kashmiri Muslims.
"I hope that Kashmiri Muslims will condemn the neo-Nazism that may raise its head in Kashmir," Baig said.
He said he also hoped that the recent events would not "prompt others to engage in a circle of violence".
On Thursday, a school principal, Supinder Kaur, and a teacher, Deepak Chand, were shot dead by militants at point-blank range in Srinagar.
While Kaur was a Srinagar-based Sikh, Chand was a Hindu from Jammu.
Besides Kaur and Chand, a prominent Kashmiri Pandit who owned Srinagar's most famous pharmacy and a roadside vendor from Bihar were among those gunned down by militants earlier this week.