Protests hit held Kashmir after killing of militant leader
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SRINAGAR: In scenes reminiscent of what transpired in the aftermath of popular militant leader Burhan Wani’s killing, a civilian lost his life and dozens of others were injured on Saturday after massive anti-India protests and clashes erupted in India-held Kashmir following the death of a top militant commander and his associate in a gun battle with Indian troops.
Militant commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and one of his comrades were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that militants were hiding there, police said.
The gun battle ended on Saturday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching the area for at least one more body, police said.
Aziz says three of the 12 youths slain in disputed region killed ‘extra-judicially’
The two were not the only militants to be slain on Saturday. At least six other militants were also killed in the disputed Himalayan region.
Two others had been slain on Friday, taking the total number of militants killed in held Kashmir on Friday and Saturday to at least 10.
As the gun battle raged in southern Tral area between Indian troops on the one hand and Bhat and his comrade on the other, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans mounted a march in an attempt to help the trapped pair escape, according to sources.
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
Witnesses said a young man was killed and several other people were injured after Indian forces fired on the protesters near the site of the gun battle. Police chief of the disputed region S.P. Vaid claimed the man was killed in a crossfire.
As the news of the militant leader’s killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting “Go India, go back” and “We want freedom”.
Traders shuttered shops and businesses across the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar. Officials said clashes were reported in more than four dozen places in the disputed region.
Dozens of civilians were reportedly injured in the clashes. Police claimed at least 25 police officers and paramilitary soldiers were also injured.
In an effort to quell the protests, authorities declared an indefinite security lockdown in parts of Srinagar and other major cities and towns across the valley starting on Sunday, which marks the beginning of Ramazan.
They also suspended most internet services in the region a day after they had lifted a month-long ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
Kashmiri leaders who challenge India’s sovereignty over Kashmir called for a general strike on Sunday and Monday.
Other militants
Earlier on Saturday, soldiers killed six militants near the Line of Control (LoC), the Indian Army claimed.
A gun battle erupted after the group of heavily armed militants crossed over from Azad Kashmir to the western Rampur sector of held Kashmir, said army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia.
On Friday, the army said soldiers had killed two suspected militants in the same area.
There was no independent confirmation of the incidents, however.
Pakistan’s reaction
In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz condemned the killing of 12 Kashmiri youths by Indian forces since Friday and said three of them had been slain “extra-judicially”.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation in the disputed region, he urged the international community — particularly the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and human rights organisations — to call upon India to immediately stop the ruthless killings of defenceless Kashmiris.
He pointed out that India had placed restrictions on social and other media in an effort to stop them from covering the brutalities being perpetrated in the disputed region. Despite the blackout, however, the atrocities were being reported by the Indian and international media, he said.
India has been heightening tensions along the LoC in order to hide the crimes it has been committing against innocent Kashmiris with impunity, Mr Aziz said.
He expressed grave concerns over the frequent ceasefire violations by Indian forces along the LoC and the targeting of innocent Kashmiris in Azad Kashmir.
In their desperation to hide the reality of the indigenous uprising of young Kashmiris, including by tens of thousands of girls and boys, he said, India was trying to equate it with terrorism.
Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017
