Asserting that any move to drive a wedge between Sikhs and Muslims will cause irreparable harm to Jammu & Kashmir, former state chief minister Omar Abdullah said the two communities have supported each other through thick and thin and withstood countless attempts to damage the age-old relationship.

Awami National Conference (ANC) president Begum Khalida Shah said that Muslims in the valley should assure the Sikh brethren in J&K and the entire Sikh community in the country that there is no scope for any forcible conversion in Islam or a forcible marriage within Islam itself.

The leaders made the statements while reacting to reports that two girls from the Sikh community were allegedly abducted and forcefully converted following marriage.

"I hope the authorities will move quickly to investigate the recent cause of tension & if anyone has broken the law the case should be prosecuted & necessary punishment handed out," Abdullah, who is the vice present of National Conference (NC), wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"Any move to drive a wedge between Sikhs & Muslims in Kashmir will cause irreparable harm to J&K. The two communities have supported each other through thick & thin, having withstood countless attempts to damage age-old relationships," he added.

The ANC chief, who is the aunt of Abdullah, stated that if reports are found to be correct, the person involved in this heinous adventure should be booked under the law.

"If it was found that the accused has links with police task force, then it is the duty of the DGP to punish them," she asserted. (SAM)