Students continue to challenge Indian occupation

Norwegian parliament moved for debate on Kashmir

Srinagar, May 22 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, students continued to hit the streets in Srinagar, Baramulla and other areas of the territory to protest against the illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by India.

The students of Gandhi Memorial College and MP ML Higher Secondary School came out of their college and school and assembled on main road to record their protest. Police lobbed teargas shells on the protesting students which triggered clashes. The students raised pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. The police pelted stones on reporters and photographers and chased them away to prevent them from coverage. Clashes were also reported between students and Indian forces at Palhalan in Baramulla district.

Reacting to the statement of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani said that if India considers that Jammu and Kashmir is its own territory then they should hold plebiscite to ascertain the verdict of the people. The JKLF Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik in his statement said that Jammu and Kashmir does not belong to India and only Kashmiri people can decide the fate of the territory. The Indian Home Minister in a recent assertion had maintained that Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat belonged to India.

The Hurriyet forum led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement strongly condemned the curbs imposed by the puppet authorities on holding peaceful programmes. It said the ban on mourning and condolence gatherings speaks volumes about India’s tall claim of being so-called largest democracy in the world.

Meanwhile, the national anthem of Azad Kashmir was played ahead of a cricket match in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Around first half of the anthem could be heard as the players of the two teams lined up in the video clip, which went viral. A similar video had surfaced months ago which showed the playing of Pakistani national anthem ahead of a cricket match in Gandarbal district.

Media reports said that a police constable, Syed Naveed Mushtaq, who had decamped with four weapons, has joined the ranks of Mujahideen in the Kashmir valley.

In Oslo, an interpolation has been tabled in the Norwegian parliament urging the world community to play its active role in resolving the Kashmir dispute to avert a possible nuclear war in the South Asian region. The interpolation was tabled by Knut Ariled Hareide, Chairman of Parliamentary Group on Kashmir and a member of parliament and the head of the Christian Democratic Party.

On the other hand, a number of large foreign fund organizations, managing trillions of dollars of investor assets globally, have flagged lingering Kashmir dispute and tension between Pakistan and India as potential risks to their investments in India. They said that tension over the Kashmir dispute could destabilize the Indian economy. Besides others, the organizations include JP Morgan, India Fund, Eaton Vance Greater India Fund, Mathews International Funds and Alps Funds.