Zakura, Tengpora massacre part of India’s ongoing genocidal drive in IIOJK: APHC
#ZakuraAndTengporaMassacres
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has demanded that cases be initiated before the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal against Indian forces personnel involved in the Zakura and Tengpora Batmaloo massacres and other killings carried out over the past 37 years in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, over 50 people were martyred by Indian troops in two separate massacres at Zakura and Tengpora Batmaloo areas of Srinagar on this day in 1990. Indian forces personnel fired upon a passenger bus at Tengpora around 5:00 pm, killing around 30 persons, including five women, on the spot, while several others sustained injuries in the firing.
Two hours earlier, an Indian Army convoy returning from Sonamarg fired on a pro-freedom procession at Zakura crossing, killing 11 people on the spot, while scores were injured. Of the injured, 18 later succumbed to their wounds at Soura Institute of Medical Sciences, taking the death toll to 29. The next day, Amnesty International called for an impartial probe into the massacres and urged Indian forces to exercise restraint.
“India, during its struggle for freedom, witnessed only one Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but Kashmiris have witnessed dozens carried out by Indian forces since 1990. The sole aim of India was to terrorise the people of Kashmir and curb their march towards freedom. But India failed to do so, as despite all these killings and oppressive measures, the people of Jammu and Kashmir continue their march towards freedom,” the APHC said.
The APHC said that Jammu and Kashmir has become one of the most militarised zones in the world and that troops have been involved in the killing of innocent people since 1990, as the Indian Army and police, enjoying impunity under draconian laws, continue to massacre civilians in Kashmir.
Paying rich tribute to the victims of the Zakura and Tengpora massacres on their 36th anniversary today, the APHC reaffirmed the Kashmiris’ resolve to accomplish the mission of their martyrs at all costs.
The APHC said the memories of the Zakura and Tengpora massacres are still fresh in the minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
It added that no power on earth can suppress the ongoing freedom movement in IIOJK and that the mission of Kashmiri martyrs will be taken to its logical conclusion against all odds. The APHC urged the international community to take notice of what it termed the genocide of Kashmiris by India and called upon the UN War Crimes Tribunal to initiate proceedings against Indian troops involved in incidents of mass killings in IIOJK.
