Another protester killed by Indian troops firing in held Kashmir
Hurriyet leaders have given a joint call for Aazadi march on Friday.
SRINAGAR (Web Desk / AFP) – Another youth was killed on Wednesday by security forces armed with shotguns in India-held Kashmir which is reeling from weeks of deadly violence, police said.
The youth identified as Amir Gul Mir succumbed to his injuries after he was hit by pellets and teargas shells at Prichoo in the district. Around forty other people were injured in violent actions of Indian police and troops against the protesters. The killing of Amir Gul Mir has raised the toll in the ongoing Intifada to 84 since July 8, when Indian troops killed the top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Wani in Kukernag area of Islamabad district.
Panic gripped Batamaloo area of Srinagar after Indian troops resorted to firing at Batamaloo Bus Stand and beat up the people who went out to buy milk, vegetables and other essential commodities. A big anti-India rally was held at Bugam in Chadoora, which was addressed among others by Sikh liberation leader, Narinder Singh Khalisa.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik while giving a joint call of Azadi March on Friday have appealed people to march massively towards Eidgah in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Kishtwar and several other areas in Jammu region observed shutdown, today, against the unabated civilian killings by Indian troops and police in the Kashmir Valley. Call for the shutdown was given by the Majlis-e-Shoora comprising Imams of various mosques and religious bodies.
The High Court Bar Association of occupied Kashmir in a statement issued in Srinagar appealed to the Amnesty International and other human rights organizations to send their teams to Kashmir to assess the grave human rights situation for them.
On the other hand, Hurriyet leaders, civil society members and traders have refused to meet the Indian Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, who arrived in Srinagar, today, amid strict curfew all across the Kashmir Valley. The Chairman of Hurriyet forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and other Hurriyet leaders had already made it clear that any proposed talks on Jammu and Kashmir should involve all stakeholders including Pakistan.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a media interview in Srinagar said that instead of addressing the political dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian authorities had got into the habit of blaming Hurriyet leadership for any trouble in the Valley.
As Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in the disputed region to discuss the unrest with local political, business and other leaders, thousands of residents rallied in Pulwama in southern Kashmir.
Security forces fired tear gas and shotguns to disperse the crowd which had defied a curfew to gather on the streets, said local police superintendent Rayees Mohammad Bhat.
Around fifteen people, including three police officers, were injured in a grenade explosion near Degree College in Pulwama district.
Kashmir has been under a curfew since protests broke out over the death of popular young leader Burhan Wani on July 8 in a gunfight with security forces.
Some 83 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces, and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the Himalayan region since 2010.
Many of those injured have been hit in the eyes with pellets, causing partial or complete blindness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an end to the violence, stressing the need for dialogue with political parties to find a solution.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in August 1947 but both claim the territory in full.
Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have been killed since 1989 when an armed revolt against Indian rule began.
Freedom fighters are seeking either independence or a merger with Pakistan.
