36 years on, Pattan massacre continues to haunt survivors in IIOJK
Indian troops' indiscriminate firing on Aug 1, 1990 martyred 12 Kashmiris and injured 82 others in Baramulla's Pattan town
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the horrific memories of the 1990 Pattan massacre continue to haunt survivors and the families of victims even after the passage of 36 years, while justice remains elusive.
According to Kashmir Media Service, at least 12 innocent Kashmiris were martyred and 82 others injured when Indian Army personnel opened indiscriminate fire in the busy Pattan market in Baramulla district on August 1, 1990.
Recalling the tragedy, survivors told mediamen that on August 1, 1990, an Indian army convoy was on its way to Srinagar from Baramulla when one of its vehicles suffered a tyre burst on the damaged Pattan road. Mistaking the sound for an attack, troops opened indiscriminate fire for several minutes.
“It was a hell like situation. People ran for cover while shopkeepers, vendors and passers-by came under direct fire. Over a hundred civilians were hit by bullets, and 12 of them embraced martyrdom,” the survivors said.
One of the survivors, Ghulam Hassan Butt of main Pattan town, said that he received 16 bullets but survived by the grace of Allah. “After being hit in my arms, legs and lower part of belly, I fell into a drain. I saw unbridled Army personnel firing directly at civilians. Dead bodies and injured were lying in pools of blood. I lost consciousness after witnessing an army man pumping bullets into the body of a fruit vendor from Shoch,” he recalled.
Another eyewitness, Ghulam Mohiuddin of Pattan, said that after the killing spree, Indian troops entered Mian Mohalla Pattan and set various residential houses ablaze. “The house of my friend Muhammad Akram was also set on fire by the army men. The memories of the day still sends shivers down my spine,” he said.
Another witness from Poshwani, who wished not to be named, identified several of those killed as local police Assistant Sub Inspector Abdul Rouf, businessman Ghulam Hasan Zargar, Wali Muhammd Itoo, Abdul Rehman of Gohbugh, Habibullah Darzi, mentally challenged Abdul Khaliq of Palhalan, and Nayeem Ahmed Sheikh of Buran Pattan. He said ASI Rouf sustained at least 32 bullet wounds and died on spot.
The massacre triggered massive anti-India demonstrations across the occupied territory that continued for several days.
