Srinagar, July 03 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred two more Kashmiri youth and injured many in Pulwama district, today.
The youth identified as Kifayat Ahmad and Jahangir Khanday were killed during a violent crackdown operation in Bahmnoo area of the district. Several people were injured, two of them critically when troops fired bullets and pellets on protesters in the area. In another incident, a fast moving vehicle of the Indian army deliberately hit and killed a civilian identified as Ghulam Hassan Rashi in Pattan area of Baramulla district.
A policeman was injured in an attack at a bus stand in Islamabad town. The troops thrashed the pedestrians and drivers and cordoned the area. They also assaulted a photojournalist, Sheikh Mashooq, working with a local English daily and subjected him to severe torture. The journalist was performing his professional duties when he was beaten by the forces.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Gilani in a statement issued in Srinagar, today, expressed concern over the reports about the killing of over 120 Kashmiri people and injuries to hundreds during the first half of the year 2017. He said that the stubbornness of Indian rulers was the main reason behind the massacre of Kashmiris. Syed Ali Gilani said that India could stop this bloodshed by granting the people of Jammu and Kashmir their inalienable right to self-determination.
Meanwhile, Indian police arrested Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik from his party office at Abi Guzar in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, today. A JKLF spokesman told media in Srinagar that a posse of police raided the party office and arrested Muhammad Yasin Malik. He was shifted to Central Jail, Srinagar.
Earlier, Muhammad Yasin Malik in an open letter to the US administration said that the Kashmiris had never pursued any global agenda and had always strived for a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. However, he deplored that neither India nor did the international community acknowledge the Kashmiris’ peaceful struggle. He writes that ignoring Kashmiris, disregarding their political struggle and tagging them with international terrorism would not help resolve the issue.
On the other hand, the Valley-based trade bodies and civil society organizations have decided to form Kashmir Coordination Committee to jointly resist the extension of India’s Goods and Services Tax network to the occupied territory. Around 30 trade bodies and civil society groups are part of Kashmir Coordination Committee to oppose the latest Indian move.